Grossology Evolution
by JokerCarnage5
Summary: It has been seven years since Ty disappeared. Now his son Ray, Abby's daughter Zoey and their friends Creepy-Crawly & Iris takes up the battle against the gross & the evil. It is a future with new missions and new villains for these new Grossologists all while dealing with their own personal lives. Warning: Character deaths.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

A lightning storm rolled into the city of Ringworm. The thunder echoed in Ty's ear, awaking him from his sleep. He really didn't want to wake up. He just wanted to continue sleeping with his wife's warm body pressed against his own but during later years thunder had taken on another meaning for the couple. Ty sat up just as Naomi awoke with a stir.

"Is it thundering?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah." Ty replied tiered.

"You can go back to sleep. I'll check on him."

Ty looked at her with a sly boyish smile, and that was pretty impressive considering he now was 28. "Don't you have a meeting at nine tomorrow?" It was a rhetorical question. He kissed her cheek. "Make sure to get some sleep honey, you'll need your strength. I'll see if Ray is alright."

Naomi smiled and laid back down, tugging the pink sheet over her. "Thank you." She mumbled sleepily. Ty patted her back before getting of the bed and put on a pair of soft pants and glasses.

Ty had changed quite a bit since high school. He was still rather slim but his shoulders were broader, his arms more muscular, he wore glasses now and a five o'clock shadow graced his face. Naomi hadn't changed quite as much. She had of course gone thru all the normal changes all women goes thru when maturing and she had taken up the habit of keeping her hair at shoulder length.

Ty walked out of the room, out to the corridor. They lived in a conventional two story house now, not so different from one that Ty had grown up in. Ty came to a white door and opened it slightly. There, on a bed in the room's corner was Ty and Naomi's son Raymond Archer or Ray for short. He sat up, wearily looking at his lap while nervously twiddling his thumbs. His night lamp was on. He looked very similar to Ty with black spikey hair but he had his mother's sage green eyes.

Despite being nine years old, Ray suffered from a severe case of Astraphobia so it was not unusual for him to be awake during thunderstorms. Ty still remembered all the times Ray had jumped into his and Naomi's bed when scared of the thunder. He didn't do that anymore but it wasn't certain if it was because Ray was less scared nowadays or if he was simple embarrassed of his phobia. Ty put on a smile as he entered the room. Once he flicked on the ceiling light he could see the floor was littered with toys of famous superheroes, Dinosaurs and most promptly Japanese kaijus. The walls were covered with posters of Spider-Man and Jurassic Park as well as a chart showing the different species of North American snakes. Ray was a nerd just like his old man.

"Hey buddy. Can't sleep?" Ty asked friendly.

Ray looked at his dad. "No."

Ty sat down next to him on the bed. "Are you afraid of the thunder?"

"I am not afraid of anything." Ray argued rebelliously. As if on que the lightning struck. Ray yelped and hide under his sheets.

Ty smirked and tilted his head. "Yeah, I can see that."

Ray came out from under the blanket. He pouted at his father and punched him in the arm. It was hard to tell if he had meant it to hurt or not but Ty didn't feel much.

"You know it is okay to be scared sometimes. I am scared of clowns, aunt Abby is afraid of leeches, I even have a friend that is afraid of the outdoors." Ty explained.

Ray's expression soften and he dropped the sheets. "Really?" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, yet there's no reason to be scared of any of that."

The boy thought on it for a moment. "Well, my fear is different. The lightning is dangerous. It can hit you in the head and kill you."

"Not this lightning. This lightning is about four miles away." Ty exclaimed smiling.

Ray blinked confused. "How do you know that?"

"I counted the seconds between each lightning flash and the thunder noise. For every fifth second you can count one mile distance to the storm." Ty explained.

"So you counted twenty seconds so the lightning is four miles away?" His son guessed.

Ty nodded.

"How do you know such things?" Ray sounded almost in awe.

Ty smiled proudly. It wasn't easy to impress Ray. "I have taken my time to learn these things. The more you learn about the world the more you can help it and in return it will help you."

Ray tilted his head, looking confused. "I don't get it."

"You'll figure it out. You are really smart." His father said and Ray smiled at the compliment. "So, do you think you can sleep now?"

"Hmm, can you give me my King Ghidorah?" He pointed to the floor. The problem was that there were several toys there and Ty had no idea which was which.

' _I seriously need to remind the boy to pick up his toys.'_ Ty picked up one of the monster toys and showed it to Ray while giving him that _is this the one-_ look.

"No dad, that's Rodan." Ray exclaimed.

Ty placed the toy on a nearby shelf. He then turned to the floor with his fists against his hips. "So which one is King Fedora?"

"It is King Ghidorah dad. It is the dragon with three heads." Ray pointed out. He tried not to laugh at his dad's stupidity.

Ty saw the toy and picked it up. He wondered where his son had developed this odd interest. _'Right, Andy and his daughter gave him one of these action figures for his seventh birthday. Candice, what a nice girl.'_

He handed Ray the doll. "Thanks dad."

"You're welcome buddy." Ty gave his son a big warm hug which Ray returned. He slowly let go of Ray and headed for the door. "Sleep tight son."

"Good night dad."

"Sweet dreams Raymond." Ty said warmly with a smile as lovingly as a father's could be before closing the door behind him.

Ty started walking back to his and Naomi's bedroom, seeing forward to go back to sleep. Suddenly Ty was struck with severe inner pain. He got vertigo, tripped onto his knees and dropped his glasses.

A dark voice inside his head murmured. _'Fah-fah-fah-fah. Ty-Ty-Ty-Ty-Ty. Fah-fah-Ty-Ty.'_ "No, not the voices again." Ty lamented. He had heard this voice for a few years now but it had often been quiet, unclear and wasn't really often heard but this time it turned from a murmurer to a whisper. _'Ty-Ty, you can't prolong this any longer-longer. It is time-time. Tear down the old and let the new grow-grow.'_

He put his glasses back on and sat against the wall as he started panting and sweat cold. He was obviously not just mentally troubled, there was some wrong with his body as well.

* * *

Ty got to the kitchen and swallowed some special pills. LabRat had developed the pills especially for him to help him with the voices. He was the only one that knew since Ty didn't want to worry his family. They used to work but lately their effect had started to fade.

' _I should probably ask LabRat to prescribe me something else.'_

' _You are so naïve Ty-Ty. Did you ever think that the pills_ _ **never**_ _worked? LabRat's magic pills was never anything but a placebo. A farce to make you believe that all your problems could be easily solved but it can't-can't.'_

' _Is that just my doubt talking or am I really going insane…or maybe it is something else?'_ Ty looked at his reflection in the kitchen window. He gave it a stern glare.

' _Do what you were always meant to do-do. Tear down the old and let the new grow-grow.'_

"What does that even mean?" Ty realized as soon as the question left his mouth that he should not encourage the voice by engage it in a conversation but it was to late.

' _Destroy everything that is you, everything that is holding you back. Destroy Naomi and Ray-Ray.'_

Ty was shocked. Now he knew these thoughts were not his own. They couldn't be. He loved his family more than anything. He had sacrificed a lot for them and he was ready to give up much more.

* * *

Naomi was asleep in their double bed when a half packed traveling bag landed with a thud on the bed, immediately waking her up. She looked surprised at Ty as he ripped clothes out of their wardrobe.

"Ty, What are you doing?" She asked alarmed.

"You and Raymond need to leave the house for the night. I want you to stay with my sister until everything is safe." Ty replied as he laid clothes and other requirements in the traveling bag.

"What? What do you mean? What is happening?" Naomi was shocked.

Ty sighed defeated and lowered his head. "It-it has to do with the bureau." He lied but it was the easy answer. Naomi had known about his secret life as a Grossologists since high school, she had even stepped up to be part of missions when necessary and she had learned not to ask too many questions. Ty didn't know if what was happening with him had anything to do with Grossology but he needed to get his loved ones out as fast as possible. "I don't know all the details."

"Then why can't you come with us?" She asked.

Ty sat down next to her with a sad expression. "Because whatever is going to happen is because of me. I am sorry but this is one of those times when you are not safe with me." He felt horrible and he regretted he had never been able to give his wife the safe life she deserved.

Naomi laid her hands gently on his and looked him in the eyes. "Then I'll stay here with you. I won't leave you in your time of need?" Her voice was so filled with compassion and concern that it made Ty smile, it reminded him why he loved her so much.

"Naomi, you know I can handle anything, I have for years. The only thing I can't handle is seeing you or Raymond get hurt." He cupped one of her cheeks. "You need to keep him safe. You know how much I love you."

"I love you too." Naomi said, now understanding what she needed to do. The two lovers kissed each other passionately.

* * *

Naomi shacked Raymond to wake him up. "Ray, Ray, wake up Ray."

Her son groggily woke up. "What is it mom?" He asked tiered.

"We are going to a sleepover at your aunt Abby." Naomi said innocently happy.

"In the middle of the night?" Ray asked confused.

"Is there a better time for a sleepover?" Naomi replied. She forced him to sit up. "Put on your clothes Raymond."

He could see that his mom had laid up a set of clothes for him on the edge of the bed. "I don't want to."

"I thought you liked sleep overs with your cousin Zoey?" Naomi kept up her happy front.

"I do but not this rash. I need notification and time to pack my stuff." Ray explained.

Naomi let out a sigh. "Your medicine and toothbrush has already been packed and you don't need any of your toys. We will be back tomorrow."

"Then why do it?" He asked puzzled.

"Put on your clothes and I'll tell you on the way." Naomi said sternly, her happy front now torn down by tiresomeness and the seriousness of the situation.

Not wanting to anger his mother any further Ray changed into his day clothes and Naomi handed him a bag with some of his stuff before dragging him by the hand out of the room and down stairs.

"What is happening mom? Why do we need leave?" He whined.

"We um, need to leave the house for a bit. It is something wrong with it." Naomi replied.

"What wrong? Is there a gas-leak or-or is there a problem in the structure?" Ray asked frightened.

"Um, yes. Correct." Naomi answered. Sometimes it was hard to argue with a son that in so many ways was smarter than herself.

They got to the hall and Ray started putting on his shoes. Ty approached them. "Hey son. Have fun at your cousin." He said.

Ray blinked surprised at his father before turning to his mom. "Isn't dad coming with us?"

"Um, no. He will stay here to look after the house." Naomi replied in a sad tone. This caused Ray to look concerned at his dad.

Ty faked a smile. "It will be okay buddy. We'll see each other tomorrow, I promise."

Ray quickly ran over to his dad and hugged him tightly. He didn't like being confused and right now his parents confused him a lot.

Touched by his son concern Ty bent down and hugged him back. Gently squeezing him while shutting his eyes, trying not to cry. ' _When will I be able to hold my son again?'_ They reluctantly let go of each other and Ray went back to his mom. Naomi and Ty exchanged glances one last time before she and Ray walked out the door. The last thing Ty saw before the door closed was his scared son looking back at him.

Next Ty went to the kitchen and grabbed a cold can of beer from the fridge. He then walked into the living room. On a small table were a couple of framed photos. He picked one of them up. It was a picture of them, his family. He and Naomi stood next to one another in the photo. Ty had his hand on her waist and Naomi held Ray in her arms. He was only a few months old back then.

"As long as I know you are okay nothing that happens to me is too bad." He placed the picture back on the table and turned to walk away when something else caught his eye. It was another framed photo next to the one with his family. He picked it up. It was of him and his sister Abby at their high school graduation. They wore black & white robes and graduation caps. They smiled and had their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders. The picture caused Ty to smirk and he affectionately stroked his thumb over Abby's face. "You always did come to save me, didn't you sis." He placed the picture back on the table and sat down in an armchair. He opened the can and took a deep sip of the cold liquid.

"Okay Brain Ghost, Jack-in the-Box, Kid Rot 2.0 or whoever you are. I am ready for whatever you got so bring it on." He exclaimed daringly.

* * *

Naomi was driving away in her car with her son in the backseat. They were less than a block away from the house. Out of curiosity Ray sneakily unlocked his seatbelt and turned around to look back at their house. To his shock he saw smoke pouring out from every opening in the house. The windows, the crevices and from under the roof planks. Ray knew what smoke meant.

"FIRE! FIRE! MOM, THE HOUSE IS BURNING! MOM!" He screamed.

Naomi got shocked, stopped the car dead in its tracks and looked out of the window. The sight of the smoke made her terrified. She started up the car again and drove back as fast as she could.

' _What was I thinking? How could I just have left him when I knew something bad was going to happen? Why can't I ever say no to Ty?'_ She scolded herself.

She stopped the car outside their house. She then turned to her son. "Now, no matter what happens Ray, I want you to stay still in the car. I am going to look for dad."

"But I want to help."

"RAY! STAY IN THE CAR!" Naomi commanded.

"Okay." He said with a nod.

Naomi ran out of the car and just to be on the safe side she locked the doors with her electric-car key. "TY, TY!" She shouted as she ran towards the house. When she opened the door she was meet with a wave of thick dark smoke rushing past her. It stung her eyes and made her cry but she still continued inside.

"TY! _*cough*_ TY! TY! _*cough, cough*_ TY! _*cough, cough, cough, cough*!_ "

As Naomi ventured further inside the smoke got thicker and her coughing more violent. She was practically blind. Suddenly, something hard hit her in the chest, knocking the air out of her. She stumbled backward out of the house and fell unconscious on the grassy lawn.

"MOM!" Ray screamed terrified from inside the car. He hammered his fists against the window and tried desperately to open the door to but no avail.

"MOM! MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, this is was the genesis of my new fanfic.** _ **Grossology: Evolution.**_

 **The real story starts in the next chapter which takes place seven years after this event. Of course Ty's disappearance will play a major role in the story but it will mostly focus on Ty's son Ray and his cousin Zoey becoming Grossologists as well as two of their close friends (which I won't reveal until later). More than developing these new characters I will also explore how the old characters and the world from the show has developed in this rather distant future. There will be new heroes, new villains, old heroes, old villains, mysteries, action, intrigues, romance, drama and of course a lot of grossness.**

 **I will write this fanfic like a TV-series since that is the format I am the most familiar with. Each episode will be between 2-4 chapters long.**

 **This might be my biggest undertaking yet on this site so hopefully the entire project won't just crash and burn after just five chapters. I am hoping for lots of views and if I am** _ **really**_ **lucky some reviews.**

 **This story is completely unrelated to any of my other Grossology-fanfics. My other big Grossology story** _ **Rot in Paradise**_ **will continue unaffected by this one with its own continuity.**

 **So, let's talk about this prolog. Being a father is a position Ty has never been in before so hopefully I managed to portray him as a likebull or at the very least a realistic father. I will go in more on Ray's character in the next chapter when he has grown and gotten more of a personality but in this prologue I tried to make him into at least a semi-realistic kid. I always hate it in stories when the writer portray little kids as perfect little angels so I made Ray a little bit rebellious and awkward here.**

 **Your reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	2. Generation Gross (Part 1)

**Episode 1: Generation Gross (Part 1)**

* * *

 **7 YEARS LATER**

' _I want you to look back at your life, to look at that one moment that defined you as a person. That moment when you understood who you are and where you stand. For most people it happens in their teens. You get responsibilities, you fall in love, the hormones start messing with your head and no one takes pity on you anymore, you know cause you're not an immature kid anymore. For some people it never happens at all. For me it happened when I was nine years old. I saw my house burning down with my dad still inside and I feared I would lose my mom too. I guess what I learned from that experience was that you better look after the ones around you because before you know it they will be gone like in a puff of smoke.'_

* * *

Raymond Archer skated down the roads of Ringworm suburbia. The wind rushed thru his hair as he went faster and faster down the downslope. He was a teenager now. He had started wearing glasses and his combed raven hair obscured his entire forehead. He wore a red shirt and a black sleeveless vest that might have been a size too big for him. Ray reached his house and swerved onto the grassy lawn, letting the soft grass slow down his speed until he went slow enough to jump of his skateboard. He picked it up and went inside.

The house they lived in was a lot smaller than the one they had before but was still two-story high.

"Mom!" He called from the entrance and placed his skateboard by the wall.

"I am in the kitchen sweetie." Naomi chirped out.

Ray walked into the kitchen were his mom was spreading nougat cream over a doubled layered chocolate cake. "Has any of the guests arrived yet?" He asked in a hurry.

"No dear, not yet." Naomi replied. "You think can set the table?"

"Do I really have work on my birthday?" He said dryly.

Naomi raised an eyebrow at her son while tilting her head, giving him that _are you serious_ -look.

Ray quickly raised his palms defensively. "Just kiddin, just kiddin. I'll get the plates and that stuff." Naomi couldn't tell if he had actually joked or not.

"So, how was school?" Naomi asked.

"The usual but Zoey wasn't there today thou." Ray replied regretfully.

"Oh, I hope she isn't sick. It would be a real shame if she couldn't come." Naomi said while sprinkling raspberries on the chocolate cake.

"So, any chance I will see any of my uncles today?" Ray asked sarcastically, he already knew the answer.

Naomi let out a tiered sigh. "No dear. Jeff is still in jail but hopefully he will call. Jeffro is still in Spain on his soccer tournament and Jeffrey didn't feel obligated to visit but he said he'll send a post-card." She replied bitterly. Her brothers had barely talked to her since she married Ty.

As Ray started taking plates out from one of the cabinets they heard the sound of a car driving up on the driveway. "Sounds like the guests have arrived." Ray stated and he and his mom walked out to greet the guests.

It was a dark green minivan that had that had parked on their driveway. First out from the passenger seat was Abby. She smiled warmly at Ray and winked to him. She had changed some since her teenage years. She was a tall, well curved woman in a long-sleeved white shirt and blue jeans. She still had her long ponytail but it was shorter now (meaning it went to her hip rather than her ankles). To Ray she was known as _the cool aunt._ The door to the driver's seat opened and Chester stepped out. Ray had never seen any photos of Chester as a teenager but anyone that only knew him from high school would barely recognize him. He had cut his long blonde hair short, he was even taller than Abby now and while not exactly buff he wasn't scrawny anymore. Most women would actually consider him handsome nowadays. Ray looked up to him since Chester worked at a university.

A third person jumped out of the car but she moved in such a flash that one could have thought a fox had escaped from the car. She was Zoey, Abby's and Chester's daughter. Even thou she was just a few months younger than Ray Zoey was much shorter and still had some of her childish nature. She was clade in specially made non-organic clothes that covered every inch of skin on her body except for a small gape around her warmly brown eyes. She had a long olive-green scarf wrapped around her neck that covered half her face. It fluttered in the wind like a kite. She also had a brown hoodie whose hood was draped over her head and black gloves. She had inherited her mom's red hair but it was shorter and bushier. It was like if Chester's hair had been dipped in Abby's colures.

"Hey coz-*huff.*" Ray was unable to finish his sentence because his cosine enwrapped him in one of her traditional tight hugs.

"Happy birthday Ray." Zoey said and Ray returned the hug. The two cousins stood each other closer than most siblings. They were best friends and always stuck together.

Chester went to the trunk and pulled out a large wheelchair while Abby opened one of the backdoors to reveal a third adult, LabRat. Of all the old Grossologists LabRat had changed the least except for the fact that he was a lot taller and paralyzed from the hips down. Of course since Ray and Zoey knew nothing about their parents old lives as Grossologists, so to them he was simple Uncle Paul even thou he wasn't really a relative. Chester rolled up the wheelchair and Abby lifted LabRat of the car seat and got him into the seat. More than that they didn't need to help him since the chair was fully automatic. A single flick on a joystick made it go just as fast as Abby's & Chester's walking speed as they headed for the birthday child.

"Happy birthday Raymond. How are you, you little hellraiser?" LabRat exclaimed jolly.

"Just well Uncle Paul." Ray replied.

Abby bent down and gave Ray a big hug. "I can't believe my favorite nephew is already sixteen."

"Well, really my birthday is tomorrow but Candice said she and the gang was planning something big for me so today I celebrate it with my family."

"So Candice won't come?" Abby asked somewhat nervously. She liked Candice but she didn't care much for the girl's family.

"Nope." Ray answered to her relief before he hugged Chester. Another car drove up on the driveway and Harvey & Petunia got out from it. Their hairs had become grey and their skins had gone wrinkly by the ages. Petunia no longer had her ponytail and Harvey had become a bit more plumb.

"Hey kiddos." Harvey greeted.

"I am not a kid anymore. I am a man now." Ray stated and pointed his thumb to his face.

"Well, I hope you are not too old for one of these." Petunia said and gave her grandson a big hug. After that she turned to Naomi. "Hey Naomi. Is everything ready?"

"Not quite." Naomi replied.

"Don't worry, we'll help." Chester exclaimed.

"It's very nice of you but you guys really don't have too." Naomi said even thou she knew she wouldn't be able to keep them away from helping her.

"Come on Zoey, let's go to my room while the grown-ups fight over the right to set the table." Ray joked and the two ran inside and up the stairs.

The first thing Zoey did when she came into Ray's room was going to a medium-sized terrarium, mostly filled with water but with a large stone that reached above the surface and a wooden log. A young red-slider turtle rested on the rock. Since Naomi was allergic to fur Ray couldn't get a dog or a cat but he was okay with having a turtle since he thought reptiles were way cooler than mammals.

"Hey Dexter, I have really missed you." Zoey said and nudged the little turtle with her index finger. Dexter thought her finger was something eatable and bit into the glove with his scissor like beak. Zoey thought it was cute so she playfully wriggled the finger but when Dexter started pulling harder the glove's fabric started to tear. "Um Ray, it's ripping my glove apart."

Alarmed, Ray rushed to her side and placed his fingers over Dexter's earholes. This made the turtle to release his grip of the glove. "Hew, he didn't reach the skin, did he?" Ray asked concerned.

Zoey examined her glove before looking at the turtle that was to her relief unharmed. "No, I don't think so."

"So, why didn't I see you at school today?" Ray asked casually but his cousin's reaction was far from casual. Zoey looked ashamed, sad even as she gazed the floor. Ray got very concerned for her. "You had another outbreak?" It was mostly a rhetorical question. He understood what had happened.

"Yeah, my entire bed rotted so dad took me to Uncle Paul to have me checked." The red-head replied meekly. Zoey had inherited her father's rotting touch. Even thou Chester had long since been cured from Kid Rot the parasite's genes had somehow laid dormant inside of him and later past over its qualities during Zoey's conception, becoming part of her genetic makeup. Her powers didn't appear until she was twelve years old. The first breakout had resulted in the death of her cat Stripes and in the destruction of their old house. The first year of living with it had been extremely hard for her but Zoey had learned to control her powers to an extant using a combination of herbal teas, meditation and medicine. While she could mostly control these powers they often manifested when she was angry, stressed, scared, lustful or menstruating or if her body-temperature changed. She was very concerned of accidentally hurting others which was why she wore custom made clothes of non-organic material, like polyester and nylon.

"And…" Ray wanted her to continue.

"And nothing, he found nothing new." She answered.

"Why did it happen this time?" Ray asked.

Zoey's expression changed in a millisecond. She flinched before blushing. Hiding her smile under her scarf.

Ray grew a mischievous smirk. "Awe, you were thinking about Hugo again."

"No, no I didn't. I was just having a nightmare." Zoey argued nervously. It was obvious lie.

Ray rolled his eyes and tilted his head. "Riiight, I am sure it positively horrifying." He cooed sarcastically.

Zoey scowled. "Can you at least be nice to me on your birthday?"

"Well, technically my birthday isn't until tomorrow so until then I can treat you like dirt." He joked before going to his television and started mixing with his video game console.

"You can be a real jerk sometimes." Zoey pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.

Ray turned to her and felt really bad when he realized he really had hurt her. "Yeah, I am a jerk. I am really sorry. I-I forgot how hard these outbreaks can be for you Zoey. I will try to remember to keep my mouth shut."

Zoey smiled a bit. "It's okay."

"Hey, you want to play Cryptid Mission Run? I saved it from last time we played." Ray asked and offered her a controller.

"Sure." Zoey took the controller and sat down next to her cousin. Cryptid Mission Run was an adventure game were you played as different cryptids. The game was all about staying hidden and killing enemies. Ray played as a Chupacabra and Zoey played as a Bigfoot.

* * *

Abby stood on the lawn, talking to her dad while drinking lemonade. Most of the others were working the kitchen inside. In the corner of her eye she saw LabRat in his wheelchair, overlooking the neighborhood.

"Um, dad, do you think you can get me a refile?" She asked and handed him her mug.

"Sure honey." Harvey answered and went inside.

Abby walked up to LabRat. "Hey there LabRat, What are you doing?"

LabRat turned his head and flashed her a smile before turning his entire wheelchair towards her. "Nothing special. Just enjoying the outdoors."

Abby laughed. "I never thought I would ever hear you say that."

"Yeah well, sitting in a wheelchair changes perceptions for you?" He said smiling.

"You know, I have really missed our talks."

LabRat face-palmed. "Aw, I have totally forgotten to call you. Sorry"

"A lot to do as Director of Grossology, eh?"

"Ha! I wish. There are so many Grossologists now and the work system goes so smoothly that the bureau is pretty much self-sufficient. I have pretty much become obsolete." LabRat exclaimed downbeat.

"Well that is all your credit. You have become a very successful man LabRat." Abby stated.

"Thanks but it was a lot more fun when you and your brother was working at the bureau. It was much more fun and I was actually useful." LabRat sighed. A buzzing sound suddenly went off. LabRat pushed a button on his armrest and a small screen flipped up.

On the screen was the old Director's nephew Clarence. He was a young man now and worked as executive director at the bureau. He had clean-cut brown hair, a short beard and was clad in a black and white costume. "LabRat sir, we just got in a very interesting video-tape. I really think you should examine it before the lead gets cold."

LabRat blinked surprised. "A video-tape? Okay man, I'll be there in a few minutes." Clarence nodded and LabRat pressed down the screen. "Huh, I just wished to be more useful and now I am. I guess I should be careful with what I wish for."

"You won't be staying for the rest of the celebration?" Abby asked.

"Sorry, when duty calls you know."

* * *

"You know what would go great with this? Silly strings." Petunia Archer stated as she decorated the table.

"You don't think Raymond is a bit too old for that?" Naomi stated with a light giggle.

"Nonsense, you can never be too old for silly strings." Petunia said.

"Okay, I'll get it." Naomi went to a drawer and pulled it out. She didn't really know if they had any silly strings but if they had it would be here. She dug around in the overfilled drawer until she found something. It wasn't silly strings thou. It was a photograph of her and Ty on their honeymoon to New Orleans. It was incased in a small glass frame. Looking at it made Naomi motionless as she just stared deeply at it.

"You looked so pretty in that dress." Naomi almost jumped when she heard that voice. She turned to see her mother in law smiling sweetly at her. "Not that you look any worse now."

"I was happier than." Naomi stated shyly. "I mean not much because we didn't have Ray yet but you know…" Her voice started to choke on sadness.

Petunia put her hands on Naomi's shoulders which calmed her down. "I miss him too."

Naomi managed to smile. "He would have liked this, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah and he would also tell you what a great mother you are and how proud he would be of little Ray." Petunia said and hugged the younger woman.

"I have tried to date again you know but I don't think I am over Ty yet." Naomi said.

"Well, maybe you should try to get rid of some of these old photographs. Not that I want you to forget him but these pictures everywhere must constantly remind you of him." Petunia exclaimed.

Naomi's smile grew humorous. Her mother in law was right of course. There was pictures of her old husband in almost every large room but she had a reason to keep them up on the walls. "Trust me, I could never forget Ty but…" She paused for a moment. "I don't want Raymond to forget about his father."

Hearing this made Petunia flinched in shock but then she smiled lovingly and tilted her head a bit. She was thankful to have gotten such a wonderful stepdaughter.

*ATCHOU!* The two women turned to the source of the sound only to see a coughing Chester with his face covered in flour. After he returned their bewildered stares all three started laughing.

* * *

LabRat rolled into the Grossology bureau's surveillance room. The bureau had become so much more than the Gaglab now. They had a large office building in the middle of the city.

He was meet by his second in command, Clarence. "Hey LabRat. How was the party?"

LabRat smiled a bit. Clarence was the only person at the bureau that still called him LabRat, everyone else called him The Director or sir. "Well you called me in before it really could get started so it was more of a get-together." He chastised.

"Sorry for that LabRat. How was the _get-together?"_

"Well, it was no Beatles reunion but it was nice, really nice." LabRat said warmly. "So what was that video-tape?"

"Over here sir." Clarence said and led his crippled boss to a video screen. "It is a surveillance tape from a gas station. Last night it captured a robbery on screen. The cops first thought it was just a regular robbery but the assailants…well, let's just say you might recognize them."

Clarence clicked on play. It showed the inside of a typical gas station. Candy & newspaper stands stood orderly in line and the counter lied at the end of the room. The cashier sat behind the counter, reading a magazine. The doors suddenly slide open and the two that stepped in were indeed very familiar to LabRat.

"That's Insektiva and Sloppy Joe. They haven't been seen in 20, 21 years." LabRat exclaimed.

"Today truly is a day for nostalgia, sir." Clarence huffed ironically.

On the screen, Sloppy Joe roared and started smashing the candy stands. Insectiva jumped up onto the counter desk, grabbed the terrified cashier by his color and smashed him back first against the counter. "WERE IS SHE? WERE IS SHE?" The mad entomologist shouted at him.

"Who?" The cashier finally managed to say.

"A teenage girl. We know she has been here, she used her credit card here. Tell us where she is or I'll feed your entrails to my children!" Insectiva threatened loudly.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Sloppy Joe's green head turned up in front of the camera, obscuring the action behind him. He growled and then the video screen turned static.

"That's all there is, sir." Clarence stated.

"Who is that girl she was asking about?" LabRat asked.

"We still don't know sir. The cashier is in shock at the hospital so we couldn't ask him whether she said anything more but I have set our top man Nigel Stodding on the case." Clarence responded.

"Well, whoever this girl is she must be in major trouble."

* * *

Meanwhile at a local Pizzeria.

A teenage girl was enjoying her Hawaii Pizza. She was a clear Goth, dressed in a tan undershirt, black leatherjacket, a matching dog collar, black jeans and earrings shaped like Black Widows. Her eyes were framed by black eyeliners. She had long raven hair, some of it arched in a tall ponytail but there was somethings that wasn't quite right with her. Her skin was pale like volcanic ash but it wasn't make-up, it was her natural skin tone. A scar ran along her left cheek. The girl's irises were aurora red like an albino rabbit's and there were even more oddities about her that couldn't be seen by the naked eye.

A yellow wasp landed next to her pizza plate. It heightened its thorax and sniffed the greasy fat. The girl looked at the insect with a raised eyebrow. She smiled lightly before taking a pinch of cheese and tomato sauce off the pizza and laid it in front of the wasp. The wasp giddily got over the food that had been offered, munching on the taste of grease and tomato.

"There you go. Just don't get on my pizza cause then I might eat you." The Goth girl half joked. The wasp nervously vibrated its wings at that remark. "I am just joking but really you are sweet enough to eat." She sarcastically noted.

"Who are you talking to?" A guy that had unnoticeable walked up to her, asked. One look at him told the girl that he was probably some years older than her and he wore pretty much the same dress up as her. _'Great, another guy that thinks I will sleep with him just because we shop at the same Hot Topics.'_

"No, I was talking to myself. It's the only way I can assure myself of intelligent conversations." She hissed sarcastically.

"I know what you mean." The guy sat down in front of her.

" _I bet you do."_ She mumbled to herself.

The Goth boy didn't hear her and didn't seem to get that she was clearly annoyed. "So, what's your name?"

The raven haired girl scowled. She knew he hadn't done anything wrong (yet) but she could smell it on his hormones that he was just horny. She decided to answer his question anyway.

"Creepy-Crawly."

He smirked slyly. "I'm Shade."

"Sure you are." Creepy-Crawly rolled her eyes again. She hated when people gave themselves stupid monikers like that. Granted, her name wasn't exactly conventional but it was the name her mom had given her. She took a slurp of her soda.

His smirk grew. "So what are you doing tonight?"

"Why do you ask?" She sounded irritated.

"Just making conversation." He replied sleazily.

Creepy-Crawly narrowed her brows. "Why don't you make haze instead and buzz off!"

The guy that called himself Shade scowled, clearly offended. He heard the wasp buzz and looked at it. He smashed it with one of his gloved hands. Creepy-Crawly gasped in shock. He hadn't killed it but it was near. The wasp was pretty much glued to the table by its own blood and made a few pathetic buzz with its wings.

"You're welcome." He huffed and walked over to his friends, sitting by a table a bit further away.

Creepy-Crawly looked mournfully at the dying wasp. She affectionately touched one of its wings with her finger. She then looked at the jerk that had done it and his equally jerky friends with a glare that would scare Satan himself. Unknown to the other costumers, the pale girl released pheromones from her skin. A trigger scent for an army of vengeful sisters. When the next customer opened the door a swarm of angry yellow wasps flew inside the pizzeria. Some flew over Creepy-Crawly in a wave pattern to get a better sniff of the scent but they all soon got the message; attack. They all swarmed over the boys, stinging them with their daggers. "What is happening?" One screamed.

"We have to get out of here!" Another one shouted and soon every single human in the restaurant had left except for Creepy-Crawly.

With a satisfied smirk she stood up. "Well, I can just as well se was the jerk had for toping." She went over to the table the guys had sat at a few seconds ago. She took a bite from one of the pizzas. Disgusted, she spat it out. "Eew, olives." She exclaimed and tossed the pizza back at table before walking out of the restaurant.

* * *

Later that afternoon.

The guests had come and gone (including Naomi's parents) and the party had gone well. Ray was a bit too old for the entire gift thing so he mostly got money but he got some cool presents. A geode from Chester, _Ender's Game_ from Zoey and a new cellphone from his mom.

Ray was currently in the cellar, putting back a ladder that his mom had used to put up the decorations earlier. It was heavy & unbalanced and Ray was struggling to walk with it.

"Raymond!" His mom called from upstairs. "Did you say goodbye to grandma and grandpa?"

' _Why do she ask me that now?'_ "Yes mom!" He shouted back. His lack of concentration made him lose control of the ladder. It hit a shelf, causing a large box to fall over. A bunch of stuff, mostly electronic, scattered over the floor. Ray tilted his head back and gave out an annoyed growled.

After setting the ladder against the wall he got on his knees and started placing the stuff back into the box. He paused when he saw a piece of electronics he had never seen before and that was despite being a very well informed tech-nerd.

It was a green and looked a bit like an old calculator. "What the…" Puzzled, he picked it up. It had a G on it. It looked like the G's Grossologists wore on their slimesuits but why would a Grossology device be in his house. He knew uncle Paul worked at the bureau to some extant but this couldn't be his, it looked like it had been lying untouched here for years. He clicked on the G and with a peep the device unfolded, revealing a screen and several buttons.

"Sick." Ray exclaimed in awe. The screen said _Battery Low_ and _Sign in._ Ray raised an eyebrow at this.

"Ray, I heard a noise." Upon hearing his mom's voice, Ray quickly turned around and hide the odd device behind his back. Naomi stood in the staircase. "What happened?"

"Nothing mom, I just happened to tip over a box from atop the shelf. No problem, I'll fix it." He explained with subtle nervousness.

"Well okay then. Tell me if you need any help."

"Alright mom." Her son replied before she left the cellar. Ray took out the device from behind his back and gave it a critical look.

* * *

Ray walked into his room with the device tight in hand. He kneeled down in front of his bed and pulled out a plastic box filled with electronics. Rummaging thru it, he tried to find a computer cord that would fit the device he found in the basement. It had a small jack at the lower end for such a cord. After several failed attempts he finally found a cord that fit. He smiled widely.

Next, Ray turned on his computer and plugged in the mysterious device. "Alright, what secrets do you hold beautiful." He talked to himself like he usually did when he was in the mood. A text saying _Welcome Tyller Archer_ flashed on the screen. This startled Ray. That was his dad's name. He looked at the odd device with a mix of confusion, excitement and fear. "Did this belong to my dad?"

A window showed up on screen with two links. One said _Home_ and the other one said _GagLab._ Ray had no idea what Gaglab meant so out of curiosity he clicked on it. After some buffering a second window turned up that said _No receiver available. Fill in password._

He raised a puzzled eyebrow at this. Why would there be a receiver? Well, at least the password was no problem. Ray was a hacker's hacker. There were few computer system's the young Archer couldn't get into. He started to create a shortcut to bypass the defenses to the GagLab's mainframe.

* * *

Meanwhile at the bureau.

LabRat was working in one of the labs on something. Something that looked like a black manikin with four red camera lenses on the head.

"Sir." A feminine voice echoed thru the room. "Someone is trying to hack into the labs mainframe."

"So? Our firewalls update automatically and if not we have programmers to do it. None of my problem." LabRat stated disinterested.

"It's the **Gaglab's** mainframe." The female voice said.

"The Gaglab's?" LabRat exclaimed surprised. "No one has used that lab for years even less the network." He rolled over to an old boxy computer. The desk it was on was littered with old happy meal toys, empty mugs and other crap. LabRat swiped it all to the floor with one arm and activated the computer. The screen was covered with a thin layer of dust which the paralyzed man wiped off with his hand. The old Gaglab's mainframe was already up and true to the female's words someone was trying to get in. "Who would want to hack into the gaglab?" He asked rhetorically as he started typing the keyboard.

* * *

Ray was surprised to see that he had been blocked from the site he was trying to get into. "Oh, someone wants a war eh. Well, take this!" He said as he tried to remove the block. He managed and for a few seconds he felt pretty pleased with himself but then a series of virus warnings flooded the screen. Ray scowled angry. "You think you can keep me out? No one keeps me out!"

 _Two hours later…_

Ray was slouched over the computer desk, his head against the keyboard. He had spent the last two hours playing a tiresome cat-and-mouse game with this mysterious computer genius, using god knows how many viruses, VSPs, shortcuts and blockers. This was not just tiresome for the teenage hacker but also humiliating. He had never been prevented from getting into a system he wanted to. "I know you are there you son of a bitch, probably smirking at me. Why won't you let me take a peak?" He lamented acidic to his invincible opponent.

He then got an idea. He shut down all the windows except for the first one. In all his effort to get into the Gaglab he had completely forgotten about his other option. The link that said _Home_. He clicked on it and after some buffering a new window showed up. A text in a white frame said _Can only be accessed thru main server._ Under the white frame was a city map and a red circle pinpointed the location of the main server.

Ray blinked in surprise. He knew the location. "That's my old house! What is going on here?"

* * *

Later that night at Ringworm harbor.

A cargo ship backed up towards one of the docks. The cargo hold carried several large metal boxes. A truck parked in front of the ship with its cargo space turned towards it. Two men walked out on the cargo hold and pulled out a long wooden ramp. They extended it over to the truck just as two other men walked out onto the dock. The two up on the boat started sliding the metal boxes over the ramp onto the truck while the other two helped guiding the boxes along.

Observing the operation was three men. A bearded sea captain in a dark blue uniform, a professor from the local museum in a yellow shirt and glasses and his assistant that was clutching his chest in an attempt to warm himself in the cold.

One of the boxes slanted as it made its way over to the truck. The professor was not pleased over how the sailors manhandled his assets. "Hey! Those ice-samples are worth more than all your salaries combined so be careful." He shouted angrily at them.

"Ice? Is that what we have transported?" The sea captain asked puzzled.

"Not just any ice captain." The professor replied. "These ice samples are over 74 thousand years old. The gas contained in them could tell us a lot about the climate during that time."

The sea captain simple huffed disinterested.

Seemingly out of nowhere a thick smog ruled onto the harbor. Strangely it was brown like chocolate milk and even stranger it was coming from inlands instead of from the sea.

"That's odd. I didn't think there would be any fog tonight, you know considering the weather and all." The assistant stated meekly.

"That's not fog." The captain grumbled and took a few steps towards the smog.

"Aww, it stinks." The professor stated once the smog got close enough and he brought his shirt up to his nose. The captain took out a handkerchief and held it against his nose, breathing thru it just in case the smoke was toxic.

There was a moment of total silence. Then suddenly, a car flew thru the air in a tumbling motion. It crashed between the professor and the captain. The two men threw themselves to avoid the car. The vehicle continued to bounce over the ground before coming to a stop. The assistant ran over to the professor while one of the sailors ran to the captain, helping them to their feet. "Are you okay sir?" The assistant asked.

Suddenly, a black tentacle with three sharp metal claws came out of the smog and grabbed the assistant. It lifted him up into the air. He gave out a horrified scream before disappearing.

"Phil!" The professor shouted out to his missing comrade. The captain pulled a revolver out from his jacket and started shouting blind into the smog. "Stop! You might hit Phil." The professor ordered.

Next, two tentacles came out of the smog and headed for the captain. The man shot at them but the bullets just produced sparks as they bounced of the metal. The claws grabbed him by the clothes and dragged him into the thick fog as he screamed in horror. A few gunshots was heard from inside and then a snap-sound before everything went silent.

"What is happening?" One of the sailors said panicked.

Suddenly four tentacles shot out from the fog. One of them grabbed the nearest sailor and pulled him into the fog. He gave out an ice-curdling scream. A second tentacle grabbed another sailor by the arm and knocked him unconscious by smashing his head against the side of the truck. A third tentacle grabbed one of the sailors off the boat and lifted him high up into the air before throwing him into the ocean.

"No, no, wait." The remaining sailor stammered as he pressed himself against the reeling. The fourth tentacle violently smacked him over the chest, sending him flying overboard. He landed with a splash in the water and never resurfaced.

Most of it had happened to fast for the professor to comprehend it. He was too terrified to even speak. Then he saw the culprit to all this carnage. A humanoid figure standing on a pile of raffle was emerging thru the smog. He was slim yet imposingly tall. His back was a bit hunched over but he stood steadily on the heap. His four tentacles were attached to a box-shaped machine on his back. A pair of large glowing red eyes gazed the professor thru the darkness.

The professor took a sharp intake of air. The mysterious figure swiped one of his tentacles in front of him and then…

…everything blacked out.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Okay, I decided to end it here so that the chapter don't get to long.**

 **So, this was the first** _ **true**_ **chapter of the story. I know it was mostly just introduction to the characters, not much action or story and sadly the next chapter will be mostly introductions as well but then the action and the story will truly start. So now in the beginning you might have some questions like why is LabRat crippled, what happened to the old Director, how has the bureau of Grossology changed and who was that mysterious dark figure? All those questions and more will be answered in future chapters.**

 **I am really interested to hear what you guys thought about the new characters, especially Ray and Zoey. Your reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Generation Gross (Part 2)

**Episode 1: Generation Gross (Part 2)**

* * *

The next morning, Ray sat on the buss on his way to school. He looked out the window as the buss passed by the _Purifying Tower._ A large building in the middle of the city that cleaned the air around it by neutralizing any pollutions and keeping the values stabile.

The city had grown a lot since Ty's & Abby's time, both in scale and reputations and all thanks to one company, I.N.S.T.A.R which stood for infrastructure, nature science & tech advancement in Ringworm. The company manufactured new technology and medicine and founded several scientific/academic institutions all thru out the city. Ray actually knew the billionaire that owned the company but he had not seen him much since the loss of his dad.

Ray solemnly took out the device he found yesterday. The one with a G on it that might have belonged to his father. Had been obsessed with it ever since he found it. He hadn't even gotten enough sleep last night because he had tried to make it work. It was quite an impressive piece of equipment. Just by simple examine it Ray had found out it had a bio-scanner and a cellphone setting. He could probably call anyone on their cellphones if he could only make the thing work. Batteries was not a problem anymore but he still couldn't sign in. Ray hated passwords, he saw them as a childish safety measures that was beneath him. He sighed when he finally decided to try to figure it out. Maybe it was as simple as his father's name. He typed in _Tyler Archer._ The word _Denied!_ showed up on screen. He huffed thru his nostrils. He knew his father had been a biologist that mostly studied invertebrates so it could be something like that. He typed in _arthropod. Denied! Insect. Denied! Cell. Denied! Invertebrates. Denied! Exoskeleton. Denied!_ Ray made a nonchalant head wink when he got a new idea. It was a bit silly but he tried it. _Gross._

 _Denied!_

Ray growled in frustration. He had had already decided that once school was over he would go to his old house, the one he grew up in to figure out the origin of this thing. He also hoped to get Zoey with him on this very personal exploration.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ray walked out of the buss and onto the lawn of Ringworm High. The school that was already teaming with students but he didn't take any notice because his attention was still focused on the strange device. He typed in another word and once again he was denied. "Aw, come on!" He exclaimed irritated.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAY!"

Three voices shouted from behind him, causing him to almost jump out of his skin. Startled, he turned around as he stuffed the device back into his pocket. It was of course his three best friends, Candice, NJ and Hugo. All of Ray's friends were misfits that didn't fit in anywhere else.

Candice wore mostly pink clothes. She had glasses and long blonde hair but she had colored one of her long hairlocks blue. It was mostly visible when she tilted her head. Popular students didn't like her because she was a nerd and most unpopular people disliked her because they thought she was a snob just because her family was the riches one in town. Nothing could be further from the truth thou. She was Ray's oldest friend, they had known one another since they were kids and Ray knew her as one of the kindest and most humble human beings alive. Also, Candice was obsessed with animals, especially Dinosaurs. She had even named her cat Utahraptor.

NJ was a science-fiction geek with an emphasis on fiction. His head was almost shaped like a shoe with a streak of freckles across his face and he had bronze-brown hair. Today he wore a black t-shirt with an image of a pissed-off Han Solo giving the middle finger and a text underneath that said _I SHOT FIRST MOTHERF***ER._ Most people disliked him because his tactless, egocentric personality and bad sense of humor. It also didn't help that he had hyperhidrosis which made him sweat a lot and smell really bad. NJ called it his manly musk.

Then there was Hugo Huge. An African-American boy about Ray's height. He had short black hair, wore a heaven blue shirt and carried a leather bag over his left shoulder.

"Candice, guys. Do you think you can shout a little lauder, I don't think the entire school heard you?" Ray sarcastically exclaimed.

NJ gave him a smirk of disbelief. He then turned around and cupped his mouth as he shouted, "HAPPY BIRTDAY RAYMOND. HEY EVERYBODY, TODAY IS RAY ARCHER'S BIRTHDAY!" Of course most people just kept doing what they were doing except for a few that looked at him funny. NJ turned back to Ray and shrugged his arms. "No one cares."

Ray scowled at the sci-fi geek. Sometimes he wondered why he was friends with NJ.

"Well, we care," Candice stated smiling, "and I, I mean we have thought out one great present for you."

"Don't take her too literally, it's really all her credit." Hugo half-whispered to Ray.

"Really, what is it?" Ray asked while happily smiling.

"Well, you know my dad owns the local film school?" Candice asked half-rhetorically.

"Yes…" Ray exclaimed.

Hugo nudged him in the side. "You gonna love this."

"They have an IMAX theater and they have given us a private showing of _War of the Worlds_ in 3D." Candice enthusiastically explained.

"No way! That's so sick!" Ray smile became as wide as his eyes. He hugged Candice tightly and NJ came up from behind, enwrapping them both in a sweaty hug.

"Yeah, it's gonna be great. Sad I can't come." Hugo stated.

The three friends released one other, to Candice and Ray's relief. "Really, Why?" Candice asked disappointed.

"I have to work this afternoon." He replied.

"Seriously, man? Haven't you said you hate working at Burger Lord?" NJ asked.

"I do but I still have to work."

"No chance you can take the day off?" Candice asked.

"Sorry, I need the money." Hugo sighed. "Not everyone is lucky enough to be born with rich parents."

Candice scowled. She hated when people brought up her family fortune, it was like an omission that she couldn't relate to them or that she never had any problems of her own just because she belonged to the 2%. Noticing Candice discomfort Ray decided to act as peace mediator. "Hey, it sucks you can't come but it's just bad luck. We can probably do something fun another time, right?"

Hugo smiled and nodded. "Sure, se you guys after class." He said and headed into school.

* * *

Hugo Huge opened up his locker and took out his study books for the day. He was an honor student, always making sure he had the right material with him but what he didn't know was that a pair of warm brown eyes were studying him.

Zoey stood in the corridor corner with her hoodie draped over her head and her long scarf wrapped around her neck. She had been in love with Hugo for over a year now and she still hadn't told him. Most students didn't like Hugo, they considered him too nerdy and boring but Zoey saw him differently. He had always been so sweet and considerate to her and he was very intelligent and even funny in a odd sort of way. Of course it helped that he was also incredible handsome. She took a short breath. _'Come on Zoey, it is just Hugo, your friend. He is no different from any other boy on the planet.'_

Just as she started advancing towards him, someone quickly pulled off her scarf. Zoey turned around to see a smirking, slim boy in a red shirt.

"Zack, give it back." Zoey demanded as calmly as she could.

Zack got closer to her, his eyes studied her face inside the hoodie. It made her feel really uncomfortable. "Were is the wart?" He finally asked.

"What?"

"Yeah, the wart. Molina said you wear this to hide a giant wart you have on your face." He stated and held up the scarf.

The name caused Zoey's blood to boil but she forced herself to keep calm since she didn't want to lose control over her powers. She decided the best thing to do was simple to show Zack she didn't have any warts and just get it over with. She took down her hoodie. "There. I don't have any warts, it-it's a lie. Now can I have my scarf back?"

Zack seemed to consider it for a second, then he wrapped the scarf into a ball and tossed it into a trashcan. He laughed and ran away. Zoey wanted to scream at him, to growl, to get outlet for her anger but she wouldn't allow herself to. Bad things could happen. She sighed and walked to the garbage can. She lifted up her scarf that was now covered in chewing gum and candy wrappers. She once again sighed tiresomely. People always did this to her.

"What a jerk."

Zoey turned around and there stood Hugo with a look of concern on his cute face. "Huh…" Suddenly Zoey felt like she couldn't speak. Her heart pounded faster.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"No worry, I am used to it." She managed to find her voice but it was very quiet. At moments like this she wished she was as brave as her mother.

"Why do you let him treat you like that?" Hugo asked concerned.

' _Because I am a freak that causes things to rot.'_ Zoey looked down at the floor as she started to scrap off some of the garbage from her scarf. "It is okay, I am really not bothered by it."

Hugo smiled shyly, his lips tightly pressed together. Once her brown eyes looked back at him he blinked nervously and looked to the side. An awkward silence laid between them. Hugo finally found a topic to talk about. "So, Ray's birthday today, eh."

"Yes-yes it is." Zoey said, happy that the silence was over. "Candice texted me about the film school showing, sounds like fun. Are-are you coming?"

The brown skinned boy stiffen for a moment. "Um…Yes, yes. I-I'll be there for sure-for sure I am coming." Hugo stammered while rubbing his neck. He then turned on his heels and headed to class. "See you there." He winked to her.

"I will." Zoey called out with butterflies in her belly. Once she was sure he was gone she started to bang her head against one of the locker doors. *BANG* "Why," *BANG* "am I," *BANG* "always so," *BANG* "lame?" *BANG*

"Do you want a list? I might have it done sometime next week."

Zoey didn't even have to turn around to know who that voice belonged to. "Not now, Molina." She turned to face her daily tormentors.

To say that Molina Bouquet was the hottest girl in school would be an understatement. She had beautiful tanned skin, the kind one would see on Latinas and voluptuous raven hair. Puberty had rewarded her with luscious d-cups and long legs that seemed to go on forever. She wore a sleeveless turtleneck, encircled by a beautiful pearl-neckless. Her sharp and devious mind made it child's play to humiliate someone as shy as Zoey.

Next to her was her best friend Rachel. In one of the few instances were stereotypes existed, Rachel was a blond with a mind as sharp as a bowling bowl. She wore a pink tube dress(why she didn't just freeze to death was anyone's guess) and beautiful diamond earrings. Her smirk was as gleeful as Molina's even thou she really wasn't more than her friend's yes-man. She was shorter than Molina but still taller than Zoey.

"What? Can little Archer not talk to boys?" Molina taunted with a fake pout. Zoey had hoped they hadn't seen that.

"Even with a total dork like Hugo." Rachel said.

Zoey could feel her rot-powers flowing thru her, driven by her negative emotions. She could feel that tiny dust particles around her had already decomposed. Zoey managed to find her calm center in her inner storm, a place inside of her that no one could touch. She calmed herself from the inside out.

"He is not a dork and you shouldn't make up rumors about me having warts."

"Well, dressing like a nun makes people think what you are hiding but now that you don't wear that childish scarf I can see that you actually _do_ have a wart and it is enormous." Molina stated as her smirk grew wider.

Zoey blinked in surprise and stroked her cheek, searching for this alleged wart. "Where?"

"It's atop your neck and has ears."

Rachel laughed uncontrollable at her BBF's mean joke as Zoey scowled over getting bested. The two popular girls walked away from the humiliated red-head. Once again, Zoey sighed.

* * *

Ray sat in math class but while the other students were occupied with equations, he was still trying to figure out the mysteries of the device. Why did his father own this? What had his old house have to do with it? Did it really connect to the bureau of Grossology? If he could only answer one of these questions his nerves would be put at ease. He still went with the hypothesis that this was his dad's. What more did he knew about his dad? Not much. Uncle Chester had said they went to the same university so maybe that was the password. He typed in _Sloan U._ To Ray's annoyance he was once again denied.

"Mister Archer!" His teacher hollered. "Are you texting on your cell-phone?"

"Um…" Ray bit down on both his lips. "Yes, yes I am." He answered with an innocent smile.

His teacher, a middle aged female brunette in red marched up to Ray. "Give it to me." She sternly demanded and stretched out her palm. Ray had already stuffed the device back into his pocket so he simple faked a pout and handed his teacher the cellphone he got from his mom yesterday. A necessary sacrifice. "You get it back after class." She said and walked back to her desk.

Ray sneered a bit. He then sneakily pulled out the device again before whispering to himself. _"Well, if I can't crack you I will get my answers from the source. I am going_ _ **home**_ _."_

* * *

Ray didn't make any more attempts at figuring out the password and the rest of the day went by as usual. When school finally ended Ray walked out thru the main exit with Candice. She talked about some newly discovered Dinosaur species.

"…so we still don't know if it's a Neovenatorid or a Tyrannosaurid but I think-

The honk of a laud car horn interrupted Candice.

"That's my hired ride. See you later, birthday boy." Candice winked goodbye as she skipped over to the black limo.

Ray smiled and waved back. He trusted his friends a lot but he was not quite ready to share his discovery with them, but he wanted to share it with the one that stood him the closest. His eyes scanned the parking lot until he found Zoey, standing in line to get on the buss home. He ran up to her and pulled her aside by her arm. "Zoey, I need you with me for something."

"Um, sure. What?" She asked puzzled.

"I explained on the way."

Ray practically dragged Zoey with him onto another buss just as it was taking off. "Ray, this isn't the buss home?" Zoey whined. "Ray, were are we going?"

The two sat down next to one another. Ray looked around the buss to make sure that no one paid them any attention. His voice lowered to a heavy whisper. "Yesterday, while I was cleaning up after the party I found this in the basement." He pulled out the device from under his vest.

Zoey blinked puzzled. "What is it?"

"I am not sure but when I plugged it into my computer it said it belonged to Tyler Archer."

Zoey was shocked. "Your dad?"

"Yes, and I have seen that G before." Ray pointed to the logo on the device. "That's the symbol for the bureau of Grossology. The fighters of gross and scientific crimes."

"You think he was a Grossologist like Uncle Paul?" She asked wide-eyed.

"If he was he never told me, nor did my mom. Anyway, the device was linked to something called the Gaglab. I tried to get in but someone blocked me."

"You?" Zoey was surprised that someone had managed to best her cousin at computer hacking.

"Yeah, someone is still protecting the gaglab. Someone good but I did find the coordinates to another place, another lab I think." Ray explained. "Raspberry Street, 18."

Once again, Zoey was shocked. "Your old street?"

"Not just my old street, it's my old house." Ray specified.

"So, that's where we are going? To the house you used to live in?"

"Ding, ding, ding! Correct." Ray exclaimed.

* * *

The two Archers stepped out of the buss by Raspberry Street's bus stop.

After a ten minute walk they finally saw Ray's old house. The city's government had tried to rebuild it again but the builders had complained about the smell and feared it was a gas leak. After failing to find the problem, the goverment had simple left the house half finished. The long walls had new planks but the roof and short walls was still crispy dark from the fire seven years ago.

When they stepped onto the lawn Zoey and Ray could feel the smell that the builders had complained about. It smelled of burned wood and…something else. It was definitely familiar to the two teens but they couldn't put a name to it.

After stepping onto the porch Ray suddenly felt very uneasy. Memories and uncontrolled emotions weighed heavily on him. This used to be his house, were his father used to live, were they used to be a family. Zoey noticed her cousin's discomfort so she took a hold of his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. Ray smiled warmly at her. He definitely did the right thing bringing her with him. After taking a deep breath, Ray opened the door.

Once inside, Ray was surprised to see that the floor had been renewed with new planks, but that was all. The inside walls and ceiling was burned and half of the stairs to the second floor was gone. Sad, Ray was kind of curious to see how his old room looked now.

Zoey stepped in front of him. "So, were to start?" She asked. She knew it was important to keep her cousin's mind on the task at hand so he wouldn't get bogged down in sad memories.

"Well," Ray scratched his temple, "I always thought it was weird that my dad did so much work in the basement when he had a perfectly fine office upstairs. It might be nothing but it's a start."

"Alright, to the basement." Zoey led the way to the stairs down to the basement level. "It's really dark down there." She stated after opening the door.

Ray smiled. "First role of the boy scouts, always be prepared." He took off his backpack and opened it. He then took out two flashlights and handed one to Zoey.

As they walked down the stairs, flashlights shinning the way, Ray saw something that made him backtrack his steps. A timber beam that was burned at the top. He tilted his head as he looked at it critically. He stroked his fingers along the burned wood. He then looked at the soot on his fingertips. "Sick." He whispered his catchphrase.

"What is it?" Zoey asked.

"The fire started because of lightning, right?" Ray inquired.

"That's what they said."

"Well, last I checked lightning strikes from the sky and fire travels upwards yet these underground beams are burned. The fire didn't go on long enough for it to have burned thru the wood." Ray explained.

"What does that mean?" Zoey asked confused.

"That something else started the fire." Ray answered and continued down the stairs. "I always thought it was odd it was a lightning strike. My dad told me that night that the lightning was far away cause he counted the seconds between the lightning strikes and the thunder." A sad chuckle escaped his throat. "He was a-he was a smart man."

"He certainly was Ray. I miss him and so does my parents, especially my mom." Zoey said sympathetically. They reached the basement floor. "So what exactly are we looking for?"

Ray shrugged. "Anything. A secret door, another one of these," he heled out the device, "anything out of the ordinary."

For the next couple of hours the two pretty much pillaged the basement after anything connected to Ty or the bureau of Grossology. Finally Ray found something. A part of the wall was made of steel instead of stone like the rest of the room but it was painted in the same white color. It seemed to continue into the rest of the wall and it seemed to be sitting lose.

"I think it's a door." Ray exclaimed and started pressing the metal plate to the side. To Zoey's surprise the door slide to the side, revealing a cylinder-shaped hole with a firehouse pole. "Holy smokes Batman, it's a secret passway." Ray stated half-jokingly, half-overwhelmed. He handed Zoey his flashlight. "I go down first."

"What if there is no way out?" Zoey asked concerned.

"If there is a way in there is a way out." Ray stated before clutching the pole with hands and legs. Zoey raised a critical yet concerned eyebrow at her cousin so Ray smiled at her and gave her a one-eye blink. He slided down the pole and landed safely on a new floor not very far down. "Alright, throw down the flashlights." He hollered up to Zoey. His cousin dutifully dropped the flashlights down the hole and Ray caught them in his opened backpack before she too came down the pole.

The first thing they noticed in this rather small room was that the lamps in the ceiling was active. "Why is this room lit? The house upstairs doesn't have any electricity." Zoey stated.

Ray hummed while thinking about it. "It might be on another grid."

"Or someone has set-up a generator." Zoey guessed. She rarely asked things just because she didn't understand. She knew that asking questions helped her and Ray to think.

The small room was completely empty except for a keyboard at the very end with a small oblong screen over it (similar to an ATM) next to a large door. They walked up to it and Ray pressed down on the start button. The small screen lit up and it read _Password._

Ray smirked. "Aww, how cute, it thinks I am going to fill out a password."

"You didn't actually bring with you your laptop, did you?" Zoey inquired incredulously.

"Don't need one." Ray said and ducked under the keyboard. As he started to shift some wires he heard clicking noises from the keyboard. "Zoey, wait. You can't…"

With a swoosh-sound the door opened, revealing a narrow hallway. Ray stared bewildered at the hallway before turning to Zoey with his mouth agape. "Wha-what did you type in?"

Zoey smiled at Ray's dumbfounded expression. "Raymond."

"What?"

"Raymond, your name." Zoey said again.

Ray quickly took out the device from his vest and typed in Raymond. It then said _access granted_ and then it said _Grossometer._ So that was what it was. "How did you know?" He asked, still bewildered.

"Well, I figured that the password would be something special to Ty and what can be more special for a father than his own son." Zoey explained with the same innocent smile.

Ray then smacked himself in the face, he growled into his hand as it seemed to try to rip his face off. "Let-let's just continue." He sighed tiered.

The only thing in the hallway to the next door was three slimesuits, one orange, one yellow and one purple. All, neatly hanging by the wall. "Wow, slimesuits. This proves it! This proves that your dad was a grossologist and probably your mom too." Zoey said.

"What makes you say that?" Ray asked.

Zoey got closer to the yellow one, she rubbed one of the trouser-legs between her fingers. "This yellow one seem to fit a girl and so does the purple one."

"Huh. You know whatever is behind that door might be radioactive or slimy or something. Maybe it would be wise to put these on." Ray suggested.

Zoey tilted her head while giving him a lopsided smirk. "Yeah right, you just want to dress like a Grossologist."

He smiled a bit embarrassed. "Yeah but let's do it anyway."

So the two suited up in the slimesuits. Ray in his father's orange one and Zoey in the yellow one that she thought had belonged to Naomi but actually had belonged to her mother. Ray then took a hold of the lever to the final door. "So, lets se what's behind mystery door number three." He opened the door.

"Wow" They both said in unison.

Like Ray had predicted it was a secret laboratory. A variety of chemicals in bottles, flasks and test-tubes stood orderly on a long bench. Gas-tanks stood by the wall as well as shelves with books and scrolls. There were also a computer on a small table.

"Looks like Frankenstein lost a bet or something." Ray said as they walked into the lab.

"Hey, look. Matching backpacks." Zoey exclaimed and walked over to a trio of backpacks hanging in hooks by the wall. Each in the same color as the slimesuits. Zoey unhooked the yellow one and was surprised when she saw something that looked like an electronic button on the rem. "What is this button for?" She asked and clicked the button.

Suddenly, a pair of jet-boosters folded out from the backpack's sides. They hummed like motorbikes. Then the backpack, that had turned out to be a jetpack, freed itself from Zoey's hands. It ricochet of the ceiling to the floor and continued ricocheting all over the room.

Stricken by panic, both cousins screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Ray!"

"Duck! Take cover!" Ray shouted and they both got down on the floor, hands over their ears, eyes tightly shut.

"Is it over yet?" Zoey asked over the sound of the out-of-control jetpack.

"I don't know, my eyes are closed and I can't hear anything!" Ray loudly replied.

The jetpack eventually crashed into a corner, turning it into scrap metal. Zoey and Ray panted as they got on their hands and knees while looking wide-eyed at what remained of the jetpack. Ray then grew a toothy grin. "Cool, jetpacks." He walked over to the other jetpacks on the wall and put on the orange one. He liked how neatly it fitted him.

Another set of objects caught his attention. A couple of devices that kinda looked like handheld vaccum cleaners lying on a shelf. "What are these things?" He asked himself as he picked out one of them. He studied it closer. It seemed to have a socket for the hand. He stuck in his left hand and felt something similar to a trigger. He pulled it and a powerful stream of green slime burst out of the barrel. Ray wasn't ready for it so the momentum caused him to fall backwards, getting slime all over the room. When some of it almost hit Zoey she shielded herself with her hands and her powers caused the slime to rot away. She sighed in relief.

Ray blinked surprised. "Well, that was… unsuspected." He took off the goopshooter and placed it on the bench. "Definitely not using that any time soon." He said gruff. The sight of the computer heightened his mood. He laughed snarky before sitting down in front of the screen. "Keyboard beats trigger every time."

Zoey looked out over the room. "We sure did make a mess of the place." It was true, the jetpack had smashed several flasks with chemicals and tipped over one of the gas-tanks, not to mention all the goop. "Man, it looks like your room. Maybe we should clean it up." The red-head suggested.

"If you want to burn your fingers off on God-knows-what go ahead but I will conduct this investigation in the comfort of cyberspace." Ray replied.

Zoey tried to find some gloves or washrags to clean up but she didn't, which she thought was weird. What kind of lab would have hazardous chemicals but no safety gloves?

Once Ray found Ty's mainframe he was nothing but confused. He had hoped that his answers would be here but here where only more questions. The mainframe had dozens upon dozens of files. Some of them seemed to be names of projects his father had worked on while others seemed to be names of action figures for kids. Names like Kid Rot, Insectiva and Sloppy Joe. He clicked on the first one in the alphabetical order which was Arachnidia. In that file was several other files. He tiresomely rubbed his temple. He clicked on one that said _Arachnid Communication/Vibration._ The content was a long article on how scorpions and spiders react to vibrations and air waves, and parables between size and magnitudes.

It didn't make sense to Ray. Sure, he understood the scientific terms being used but there was no context to it. If he knew who this Arachnidia was or what kind of scenario was being analyzed then maybe he would understand it but this was things understood by Ty and Ty alone.

Ray sighed desperately. He had neither time nor energy to go thru all of these files.

' _What was I even hoping to find here? A note from my dad? Something that would change my life? Many of my questions has been answered yet nothing feels significant enough to me. I feel so stupid.'_

"Ray?" Zoey hollered. "Take a look at this."

Ray got of the computer and walked over to Zoey. There, on the wall in front of her, someone had written something in acid. The words had been burned into the wall.

' _HELP ME!_

 _LOSING MY MIND!'_

"Okay. This just turned creepy." Ray quipped.

"What do you think it means?" Zoey asked, feeling a bit nervous.

"And more importantly, who wrote it?" Ray said as an uncomfortable notion entered his head. Was it his dad that wrote this? Had his fathered suffered before he died? The thought made his chest hurt.

His thought was interrupted when he and Zoey heard metal scrapping against metal. Turning around, they saw the furthest wall sliding open and the sound of approaching footsteps caused Ray to shiver in fear.

Frightened, Zoey whispered to her cousin. _"What do we do now?"_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Alright, a new chapter and just a bunch of new characters and a whole lot of information. Since I didn't talk about Ray nor Zoey in my last AN I thought I would try to explain their role and inspiration.**

 **Ray is of course mostly based on his dad Ty Archer but I also pulled inspiration from Donatello from TMNT, Lelouch from Code Geass and Tintin. He will be the most active character in the series. Things will not just happen to him, he will almost always be the first one to take initiative. His catchphrase is** _ **'sick.'**_

 **I made Zoey very similar to her dad Chester since she deals with the same powers and issues. I also drew inspiration from Zoey from Total Drama Island (which is her namesake), Shireen Baratheon from Game of Thrones and April O'Neil from TMNT. Once they become actual Grossologists she will be the heart of the team. Hopefully I will be able to find a good balance between her shyness and her strength.**

 **Now to Ray's friends. At first I wanted to make Candice a Naomi-like character but then I thought that Zoey kind of already filled that niche so I said "fuck it, I am just going to make her the most awesome character ever." So, I made her into this spunky Dinosaur-geek. The main inspirations for Candice is Honey Lemon from Disney's Big Hero Six, Gwen from The Spectacular Spider-man and Kat from Kenny the Shark.**

 **Then there's NJ. He can best be described as 'that friend that always inconveniences you' (you know the one you always have to be the designated driver for). He doesn't do much now but he will be the comic relief of the series. His inspirations are Fred from Big Hero Six (I really liked that movie) and Dan from Dan Vs. I also added some of Erlich from Silicon Valley into NJ (he is played by the same actor that voiced Fred).**

 **Last is of course Zoey's love interest, Hugo. He is more interested in Astronomy and physics than Ray (think more Einstein and less Darwin). His inspirations are Jack Darby from Transformers Prime as well as Luis from The Future is Wild. He is the responsible teenagers, always takes his responsibilities very seriously.**

 **Then there is the mean popular girls Molina and Rachel. At first I didn't want to create these characters but then I kinda saw how they were necessary. After all if Ray and the others are misfits then there has to an opposition to them. Hopefully I can make them a bit more enjoyable than** _ **her-voice-makes-me-bleed**_ **Paige.**

 **Creepy Crawly will return in the next chapter so I will go more into depth on her character in that AN. Once again I am sorry for all this exposition but I promise there will be less and less of it as the story goes on. I also know some of you are probably asking why Ty has a secret lab below his basement when he had nothing like that in the show but that's another secret to be revealed later.**

 **Also, all of my own characters and their names are allowed to be used by anyone that wants to use them in their fanfics/fanart :).**

 **As always your reviews are highly appreciated.**


	4. Generation Gross (Part 3)

**Episode 1: Generation Gross (Part 3)**

 **Theme Song: 'Your Time' by Stan Bush.**

* * *

As they came closer it became clear that the footsteps were metallic in origin. A pale skinned, bald man walking on four metallic tentacles with claws walked into the lab. A gasmask with tubes going to his back and red lenses obscured the man's face, making it impossible to tell if he showed any emotions. His clothes were all black except for the silver colored metal on his back and chest.

Ray thought he looked like Dr. Octopus. He and Zoey was currently hiding behind the long table at the middle of the room. The man couldn't see them but they could see him but that was of little comfort for the two cousins. The pale man turned his head from side to side, obviously skived over the mess the Archers had made. He also seemed to take noticed to the fact that the computer was active.

"Computer! Scan the room, heat-sensors." The man growled sternly, his voice was somewhere between human and mechanical.

"Yes sir." The computer responded with an artificial voice. After a few seconds of scanning the computer talked again. "Three heat sources detected in this vicinity."

"They are still **here!** " He swirled around, his tendrils followed his moments. He soon started hovering above the floor with jet boosters on the same mechanical backpack as the tentacles were attached to. "Come out of hiding and face the consequences of intruding on my domain." He commanded.

Ray could feel chills running down his back. This was it, they were going to die here. He looked at Zoey. She seemed to be just as scared. Her brown irises were practically vibrating inside her large eyes. _'This is all my fault. I dragged Zoey into this. I must do anything I can to make sure she gets out of here unharmed.'_

He placed a hand on her shoulder. _"Run."_ He whispered. Zoey blinked puzzled at him. _"Run as fast as you can."_ He whispered before running out of hiding, hoping he could distract the man in the gasmask so Zoey could escape.

"Hey, doctor Dorkopus!" He shouted loudly and the pale man turned towards him.

Three of the tentacles juddered like rattlesnake tails. Ray had hoped to avoid getting captured for at least a few second but before he could even flinch a fourth tentacle attacked. Its metallic claw clenched his body and forced him up against a wall, his head painfully hitting the wall. The mysterious person hovered closer to him until Ray could see his own reflection in those red lenses. "What are you doing here? Who sent you?" The man spat while hardening his grip on the teenager.

"No one sent me." Ray answered, trying to sound brave.

"Then why are you dressed like a Grossologist?" He asked, placing a metallic claw against the G on Ray's shirt.

"I found it here. Don't you even know what you have in your own lab?" Ray spat. It was meant as an insult but when he thought about it, maybe this individual didn't. The writing on the wall said _HELP ME! LOSING MY MIND!_ Was this the writer? Did he even know about the house upstairs? What was he thinking behind that gasmask?

The man draw a heavy breath. "Doesn't matter. You have compromised the anonymity of this location and must therefore be exterminated." He held a sharp claw against Ray's throat. "It will only take a second."

Ray gulped nervously as his widening eyes stared at the talon.

"HEY! GET YOUR CLAWS OFF MY COUSIN!" The man turned to see a red-haired girl with a black aura radiating like an angry wildfire. Zoey tackled him with all her force. The impact caused him to lose his grip of Ray before hitting a wall with a heavy thud and falling to the floor. Zoey pulled her cousin onto his feet. "Come on, we have to go." The two ran out of the lab the same way they came in.

The evil man growled and ripped his shirt off with one of his tentacles. His black shirt now had a large hole were Zoey had hit him and the fabric around the hole had turned brown. "Interesting." He muttered before getting up to hunt the teens.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zoey & Ray had gotten to the firehouse pole. "How are we supposed to get up?" Zoey asked panicked.

Ray wrapped an arm around Zoey. "Hold on tight." Somewhat confused, Zoey wrapped her arms around Ray's chest and he activated his jetpack. Both shrieked in fear as the jetpack flew up the hole and into the basement way too fast. They almost crashed against the ceiling but Ray managed to turn downwards in the last second and they crash-landed into a bunch of cardboard boxes. They moaned in complain as they tried to get up.

Suddenly, four tentacles came up thru the hole and clawed at the edges. Zoey gasped in horror. She ran towards the firehouse pole and tried to shut the door but two of the tentacles blocked it. Their claws grasped after her like angry morays. "Ray! Ray!" She shouted.

Ray put on a goopshooter and started shooting at the tentacles. Their claws clogged together and retreated as Zoey closed the door and Ray ceiled it with goop. The two then ran up the stairs.

"You took that from the lab?" Zoey asked surprised as they ran.

"Well I thought it could be useful. As it turned out I was right." He replied tiresomely. They ran out of the house and continued running until they came back to the bus stop. They got lucky, a bus was just about to leave. "Wait!" Ray shouted and they managed to get on the bus before it rolled off. They were so tiered they panted like over exhausted sledge hounds.

"Excuse me," A short old lady asked Ray, "are you sewer workers?"

"What?" Ray looked down at his slimesuit. "Um…yes, yes we are."

"Oh, I wonder if you could take a look at the pipes in my basement. I think they are clogged."

"Um, we are off duty." Ray replied.

* * *

At the same time at the film school, NJ and Candice waited for Ray to arrive. Beads of sweat ran down NJ's pointy nose as he wolfed down on a snack-bar.

"Jeez, how does it come that the only chick I can get myself alone with is you?" The ginger asked between all the chewing and bits of nuts and fudge spewed out.

Candice stroked off some of the crumbs that had landed on her cheek. "Yeah, I wonder why?" She sarcastically vented. She was about to take up her cell-phone to call Ray when she heard the door open but to her surprise it wasn't one of the Archers but Hugo.

"Hey guys."

"What are you doing here Hugo? I thought you had to slave-I mean work today." NJ exclaimed. "Gotten enough pressure from _the man?"_

Hugo rolled his eyes. "I got one of my co-workers to switch shifts with me." He looked around the place. "So where are they-I mean where is he?"

Candice and NJ looked lopsided at one another before looking back at Hugo with mischievous grins.

"What?" He asked puzzled.

"Hugo, are you sure the reason you skipped work is for the celebration of our friend's sixteenth year on this earth and not because of his attractive green-eyed cousin?" Candice asked teasingly.

"No and Zoey's eyes are brown." Hugo protested.

Candice and NJ smirked at one another. "Denial!" They simultaneously exclaimed before laughing like hyenas.

Hugo pouted irritated. "You know, one conversation with you guys suddenly makes slaving over a deep fryer seem like a rather appealing way to spend ones afternoon."

"Awe come on, man." NJ wrapped an arm around Hugo's shoulders. "We all know Zoey has more control over you than a Centaurian slug."

"I'll call them now, see where they are." Candice said and called Ray on her cell-phone.

* * *

On the bus, Zoey had sat down on a seat while Ray still stood up when his phone called. He picked it up. "Hello?"

"Hey it's Candice. Where are you?"

"What do you mean?" Ray asked confused, still shocked over what had just happened.

"The movie at the Film School, remember? Have you forgotten your own birthday?" Her voice where somewhere between confused and teasing.

"What?" He had completely forgotten about that. "Oh right, no I haven't forgotten. Um, Zoey and I will be a bit late but just start the movie without us." He turned off the phone and tiresomely breathed out.

"What are we going to do now Ray?" Zoey asked.

"Well…I guess we go home, change into normal clothes and celebrates the rest of my birthday in safety." He replied.

Zoey was surprised. "Shouldn't we tell our parents about this?"

Ray looked at her like she had grown a second head. "Zoey this not the kind of things you tell your parents. They won't believe us. I just experienced it and I'll still go with the theory that all this is just a nightmare brought on by too much birthday cake!"

A heavy thud from the roof caused them to look up. Soon, a pair of sharp claws cut thru the ceiling and the man from the lab opened up the bus like it was a can of sardines. The passengers screamed in fear.

"Hey! Get of the buss!" The driver, a middle aged man shouted at him. One of the villain's tentacles spewed noxious gas in the face of the driver and he unconsciously slumped over the driving panel. The bus skidded out of control as people continued screaming and more gas filled the inside.

"You have seen too much, you have seen too much!" He maniacally repeated.

The bus smashed into a tree and the pale man disappeared. The hit caused the driver to tilt to the side and accidentally press a button, opening the doors. In the commotion of panicking passengers Zoey and Ray got separated. Zoey now wore her normal clothes on account that she had rot off her slime suit. She pressed her scarf over her face as to not inhale any of the toxic gases.

Suddenly, one of the mystery man's tentacles snatched her from the ground. Zoey shrieked as she was lifted up into the air.

"What are you little one?" He asked her but hardly awaited an answer.

Ray suddenly flew past him with the jetpack and snatched his cousin away from his claws. The man growled in frustration. "I am getting tiered of you boy." He followed them with his own boosters. Ray's jetpack was faster but the man was obviously the more experienced flyer.

"Zoey, you okay?" Ray asked.

"Yes." She answered, obviously scared.

Ray flew to the University Ring. An area with several nearby universities and cafeterias (including the film school). He had hoped that the large amount of people would deter their pursuer to come after them. Ray landed as gingerly as he could next to a cafeteria and placed down Zoey. The ground was covered by reddish steppingstones. Behind him he could hear the swoosh-sounds from their pursuer's jet booster. His idea hadn't worked it seemed.

Ray chock Zoey by her shoulders. "You have to leave, now!"

"I won't just leave-

"NOW!"

Zoey reluctantly ran away, leaving Ray to face the evil man.

"If you don't struggle there won't be any suffering." The man exclaimed and threateningly clapped his metal claws.

Ray found a pair of orange visors inside the slimesuit and put them on in order to protect his eyes. "Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing." He armed himself with the goopshooter.

The man charged towards him, his tendrils grasped after the boy but Ray had already activated his jetpack. He zoomed past the tentacles and shot his adversary in the ear. The man growled in pain. "I will teach you some manners boy." He spun around and attacked Ray with his tentacle.

Ray narrowly escaped them. He got an idea. ' _Those tentacles are effective long distance weapons but closer up he might not be as guarded.'_ He jetted right up to his enemy and started hitting him in the face. Ray's knuckles ached from hitting the gasmask but hopefully it hurt his enemy even more. Suddenly, the man stopped Ray's fist with his own palm before head-butting the boy. Ray staggered back. His enemy obviously didn't need those tentacles to fight but now he was at their mercy ones again. One of them swiped at him but he managed to dodge it at the last second.

Their battle captured the attention of dozens of people that gathered around to watch the battle. Among them was a news reporter and her cameraman. "Make sure you get with all this Otto. This is gold." The reporter, a blond woman in a red coat exclaimed.

Among the spectators were also Creepy-Crawly. She loved a good throw down and got really excited over what she saw. "Come on, smash his skull!" She jubilated.

Next to her was one was one of the university students, filming the event with his cell-phone. "Oboy, that guy with the tentacles is totally going to kill that kid." Upon hearing that Creepy-Crawly stopped cheering. She bit her lip in concern, she didn't want the boy to get hurt.

One of the tentacles sent Ray right into a wall. It hurt like hell but he managed to open his eyes in time to see his enemy speeding towards him. He activated his jetpack again and quickly took to the sky. The evil man was not fast enough to react and crashed into the same wall. He spitefully looked up at Ray before flying after him.

In midair the bald man hovered still why Ray flew circles around him, bombarding the villain with his goopshooter. Some shots hit others missed. _'The boy is intelligent but his arrogance will be his downfall.'_ The mysterious man thought. When Ray flew past again, the man's tentacles struck out and managed to clamp down on his jetpack, putting a stop to their cat-n-mouse game.

"No, no, no!" Ray panicked.

The claws crushed the jetpack into scrap metal and the man lifted Ray higher. "Tell the sidewalk I send my regards." He chuckled before dropping the teenager. Ray screamed as he plummeted like a stone.

Creepy-Crawly sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this tomorrow." She took off her black jacket and four long insect-wings spread out from her back. They looked like those on a dragonfly and were so long the people around her had to step aside. The wings made a powerful humming-sound as she took to the sky in a speed that could rival even fastest robin.

Ray had fallen more than halfway towards the ground when Creepy-Crawly catched him in her arms. Ray stared mystified at the gray skinned girl that had saved him. She smirked at him. "Will anything normal happen to me today?" Ray cried out. Creepy-Crawly landed on the ground and put him down. "Thanks for saving me but who are you?" Ray asked.

"I am Creepy-Crawly." She replied.

"That's so cool. I am Raymond but you can call me Ray." He happily exclaimed. "So, what's with the wings?"

Creepy-Crawly gestured to his slimesuit. "What's with the latex?"

"Long story." Ray answered. Now that he looked more closely at this girl he could see that she did not just have wings but also a pair of antennas. They were black and sprouted backwards so they blended in with her raven hair. If one didn't look close enough one would totally miss them.

The evil man flew down towards them. "It doesn't matter how many girls' skirts you hide behind boy. You will die today!"

Ray and Creepy-Crawly took up defensive stances. "So, who is this guy?" The Goth asked.

"I found him in my old cellar."

"That's creepy."

Ray got closer to her. _"Listen, I can't fly anymore so you have to keep him close to the ground so I can pin him."_ He whispered his strategy to her.

"I don't need your help." She spat before heading towards her enemy. She kicked the man in the stomach, causing him to tumble backwards but he managed to ground himself by digging the claws into the ground. He attacked her with his tendrils. She managed to avoid the first one but the second one grasped her like a tweezer would a bug. "You think this can hold me?" She exclaimed before projectile-vomiting stomach acid. The acid cankered the tentacle and it fell off, releasing Creepy-Crawly. "Insects fly free!"

Terrified, the pale man stepped back. Feeling his insecurity, Creepy smirked before pouncing on him. She went into full attack mode. Her fingers grew claws and her lower jaw split in two, becoming a pair of sharp mandibles. While the metal-strap gave the man some protection Creepy's fangs still draw blood as she bit down on his shoulder. She managed to pin the man on his back but before she could do anything else one of his tentacles punched her in the stomach, knocking her to the side and he managed to get up on his feet again.

"You think you can beat me? I have already showed you that those arms are no threat to me." Creepy-Crawly mocked.

"Modern men don't squash bugs, we gas them to death." With those words he opened up hatchets in his tentacles that spewed out noxious gas. Soon the entire place where obscured by a thick smokescreen of methane and carbon dioxide. Creepy-Crawly could neither breathe nor see. She coughed violently and fell onto her knees. The man had no such problems. His gas-mask gave him infrared vision, allowing him to see thru the thick fog. He retracted one of his tentacles before launching it at Creepy like a scorpion's tail. It would have killed her hadn't Ray tackled her to the side.

"Still don't think you need my help?" Ray sarcastically quipped.

"Ugh." Creepy-Crawly rolled her eyes.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Police Station.

Abby was in her forensic lab, working on a new case. She placed another blood sample under the microscope. She looked thru the lens and adjusted the image. "Interesting." She muttered to herself.

Being the multitalented woman that she was, Abby had had a hard time choosing a career after college but forensic science just fell natural to her. After all, she was still good friends with the Detective (even thou the old man had since long retired), she loved science and had a strong sense of justice. There was another plus to work at the police station…

She heard some knocks on the doorframe. Looking up she saw a red-haired man with freckles. "You know, half an hour more and you're going to miss lunch."

Abby stared at him before face palming. "Awe, sorry Gerome. I totally forgot the time." She said before getting up and draping her handbag over her shoulder. "The Thai place?"

"Well, it is the closest place." He smirked. Abby's old camp buddy Gerome also worked at the police station now. He was a detective and the two used to eat lunch together.

As they walked thru the office they saw several cops gathered around a small television. "What are they so riled up about?" Abby asked and Gerome simply shrugged. Abby walked up to them.

"Do you think we will be called in?" One of the cops asked.

"Nah, this is something for the Grossologists." Another one of them replied.

"Looks like one of them are already there." A third one stated.

"Excuse me." Abby made herself heard and the guys stepped aside. What she saw on the television shocked her beyond belief. The screen showed a pale, shirtless man with metallic tentacles fighting a girl with insect wings and a boy in a very familiar orange slimesuit. A text down in the corner of the screen said _LIVE! FROM THE UNIVERSITY RING._

" _No, it's not true."_ She whispered absentmindedly before running as fast as she could out of the building.

"Abby, where are you going?" Gerome called after her but she was already too far away to hear.

She was already out on the street. Her mind went in a million directions at once. She saw a taxi cab. "TAXI!" She shouted and practically threw herself on the hood of the car as it jammed. She quickly got into the cab. "Ringworm's University Ring and step on it!" She pulled out her ID. "Also, I am a law enforcer so don't even think about taking the longest route."

Quite terrified, the taxi-driver nodded before speeding thru the traffic.

* * *

The battle at the university had turned into a gyre of smog and tendrils as the teens circled around the mad scientist. It was near impossible for any outsider to see what was truly happening. The cameraman tried to get closer to get a better shot when a misplaced acid-spur from Creepy melted the front part of his camera. He cursed and backed away.

Suddenly, all the smog vanished. The man in the gas-mask looked nervously around the area until he saw Zoey, sparkling with dark energy. Her scarf covered her lips but her eyes were as narrow as knives. The man's tentacles shifted so he could boldly face her.

"This ends now!" She exclaimed.

Zoey wondered if she would give the man a chance to surrender but Zoey was a girl of few words. She thrusted her hands forward, sending a blast of rot-energy towards her opponent. The man managed to block the blast with his steel tentacles but the force still sent him flying into a wall. He growled and was only able to open his eyes before Creepy-Crawly launched at him with bared mandibles.

* * *

NJ, Candice and Hugo was enjoying the movie in the IMAX Theater. NJ had a large box of popcorns in his lap, Candice had a big soda and a little candy bag and Hugo had nothing. All wore 3D glasses.

Suddenly, a bald man with tentacles and a gray skinned, winged girl crashed thru the wall and stumbled across the giant screen. Creepy-Crawly sat upon his shoulder as she gnawed at his neck, drawing blood. The evil man tried to get rid of her but he couldn't get a good grip on the Goth girl. He screamed in pain and stumbled out the exit door on the other side. Candice and Hugo were so shocked that they did not even notice when Ray & Zoey ran thru the room.

NJ seemed completely unfazed. "Man, the 3D in this movie really sucks." He then stole Candice's soda mug and took a slurp.

* * *

The fight continued out to the university hallway. The man in the gasmask shacked his body from side to side but could not get rid of Creepy but Creepy didn't have much success either. Her biting at the base of the neck caused noting but superficial wounds. She decided to go after another target. Her mandibles closed around the tube that connected his gasmask to the apparatus on his back. The man bent down to the side and one of his tentacles finally managed to get a hold of Creepy's left arm. He forcefully threw her of his back but in the process she ripped off his gasmask. The winged girl hit a glass window that cracked and she fell unconscious to the floor.

The man screamed but it soon died down into violent gasps for air. He could not breathe without his mask. The open tubed leaked brownish gas that obscured the man in a cloak of smoke.

The Archers stared at the drama unfolding. Ray tapped Zoey on the shoulder. "You go and check on Creepy-Crawly," he aimed his goopshooter at the evil man, "I'll take care of stinky."

Zoey ran over to Creepy as Ray carefully circled their enemy, he wanted them to be face to face so he wouldn't be taken by surprise. The smoke cleared and Ray could see the man on his knees, coughing. "Give up, now!" Ray ordered.

The man looked up at him and Ray got the shock of his life. Nothing he had experienced today, finding the lab, flying in the air with the jetpack, meeting Creepy-Crawly could have prepared him for this. Even thou the man didn't have any hair, had sickly pale skin and bloodshot eyes Ray still recognized him.

"D-dad?" He exclaimed in disbelief.

It was indeed Ty, the man that had fathered him since birth. Ray felt as if someone had knocked all the air out of him. How could this be? Wasn't his father dead? He lowered his arms and the goopshooter fell with a clang onto the floor.

Ty frenetically searched his mechanical backpack until his hand grasped a smaller gasmask with a limited gas supply and put it on. It wouldn't last for long but for now it had to do. He gave a relieved sigh.

Ray took some stiff steps closer to Ty. "Dad, you-you are alive? How-what have you-where have you been?" Ray had no idea how he should feel or what he should say.

Ty looked at him. "Why do you call me dad?"

Ray flinched. "Because you are my dad. Don't you remember me? I am your son, Raymond" A faint smile appeared on his face.

"I am no ones father. I have no offspring." He answered coldly.

"Yes you are. You are my dad!" Ray argued, his voice growing desperate. He then took a new look at his father's body. At first the tentacles and pale skin had scared him but now it filled his pit with disgust. "Wha-what happened to you?"

His question puzzled Ty that tilted his masked head to the side. "Nothing. I am Far-Ty and have always been Far-Ty.

"No, your name is Ty. I thought you were dead." Ray stated.

"The only dead man in here **is you!** " Far-Ty launched his sharp claws towards his son. Ray would have died if he hadn't been saved once again by a flying Creepy-Crawly.

"No, wait!" Ray exclaimed.

"Don't worry about your cousin, I told her to get away." She said, not realizing what had gone down between him and the masked man. She flew off with Ray thru the building, trying to find another exit.

The last thing Far-Ty saw of his son was his distraught eyes looking back at him. For a moment it gave him pause.

"TY!" A worried voice shouted. Far-Ty turned around to see another figure that he should remember but was just another stranger to him now. "Ty, I thought it was you." Abby exclaimed.

Ty lifted himself up on his tentacles to seem more intimidating. "I think my lady is mistaking. My name is Far-Ty."

Abby looked heartbroken. "So you have taken that moniker again." She sounded disappointed but her determination soon rose again. "It doesn't matter what you call yourself. You have to remember who you are. You are Ty Archer."

Ty chock his head. "No! You are just trying to deceive me."

"No, I am Abby, your sister. Don't you remember me? We grew up together, we were both Grossologists." Abby placed her hands over her heart and Far-Ty moved closer, like he actually considered it. "You have to remember Ty. You have a wife and a son that needs you and miss you awfully much. Please, come back with me." She pleaded.

" _ **LISTEN UP!"**_

Abby & Far-Ty turned to the source of the voice. Outside the University was now a dozen of adult Grossologists and a handful of GRS-vehicles. One of the Grossologists held a megaphone to his mouth. " _YOU IN THE GASMASK, RELEASE THE HOSTAGE AND COME OUT WITH YOUR TENTACLES IN THE AIR."_ He demanded.

"There is too many variables in this conflict." Far-Ty reached for his back pocket and pulled out a cylindrical capsule. He held it in front of his face with two of his clawed tentacles and opened it. The capsule leaked out white smoke that quickly enveloped him. "Time to do like the wind and be gone."

"No. I WONT LOSE YOU AGAIN!" Abby shouted and ran into the white smoke. It was not toxic but it still made her cough. She grasped aimlessly after her brother but she couldn't find anything to grip, Ty was simple gone. When the smoke cleared Abby stood there all alone and despite what she told the Grossologists, the smoke wasn't the reason she was crying.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zoey was walking around the University, searching for Creepy and Ray. _'I shouldn't have run away, I should have stayed and helped but Creepy told me not too. What is wrong with me, can't I even think for myself?'_ She scolded herself.

She saw the fairy-like silhouette of Creepy-Crawly descending to the ground a few yards away and she picked up the pace. When she reached them Ray sat against a tree and Creepy-Crawly stood by his side. "Ray, Creepy, are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"I am fine but I think he is in some sort of shock." Creepy-Crawly replied and gestured to Ray that was indeed still in shock, incapable to comprehending what he just saw.

Zoey crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his knee. "Ray, are you okay? What happened back there?"

"My dad." Ray finally managed to speak. "It was my dad Zoey. The man in the gasmask was my dad. I thought he was dead but he-he is alive."

Zoey was startled. "Are you sure?"

"I am sure. It was him but-but he didn't remember me, Zoey." He said in a sad tone.

Zoey blinked surprised before standing up. "What are we going to do now?"

"I'll tell you what we will do. We'll swear an oath to never speak about this to anyone and then go our separate ways." Creepy-Crawly vigorously stated.

Ray stood up. "No, we can't."

"Listen…Ray was it? You seem like a nice guy which is why I decided to save you but if that man tried to kill you simple because you walked into his cellar then he will certainly go after you if you squeal to the authorities. Your best bet is to lay low and hopefully he will just forget about you." Creepy-Crawly explained.

"But my dad needs help!" Ray protested.

The Goth girl sighed. "If that was your dad then the Grossologists will take him to Splatticus Asylum and if the stories my mom told me is true then it would make him more harm than good. Also, if you tell them what happened here they will come after me to."

"You? Why?" Zoey asked.

"Do you see these wings?" Creepy-Crawly jerked her thumb at her wings. "They are not exactly natural and I don't want to be put an operating table by some creepy government scientists, okay."

Ray knew that she was really just making things up on the top of her head but her fear for the government was genuine. Besides, Ray was still too confused over the entire situation to know what to do. He also felt in debt to her since she saved him twice. "Okay Creepy-Crawly, we keep quiet about this. At least until we know more about my dad." Ray stated. He reached out his hand and she gave it a stern shake.

* * *

The next day Ray and Zoey were in history class but they could hardly concentrate on what their teacher, a bald African man in his forties was saying. Ray still couldn't fathom the fact that his dad was still alive. Zoey had also been concerned about her mother. Ever since she came back home yesterday she had seemed depressed. When Zoey had seen the red marks under her eyes Abby had simply answered that she had been cutting onions for dinner. There were no onions that dinner.

"Most historians agree that free speech started with Martin Luther. Not the civil-rights activist from the 60s of course but the German priest from the fourteenth century-

The teacher was interrupted by a series of knocks on the door. He opened the door and was meet by an African-American man in a wheelchair. "Um hello. Can I help you?"

"Yes, I am Paul Squirfenherder. I am Zoey's personal doctor and close friend to her family. I wondered if I could take her and Raymond out of class. Here is a permission slip." LabRat handed him a note.

"Well, it checks out. Raymond, Zoey, you're free to go." The teacher said.

Ray & Zoey were confused to why Uncle Paul was here but they still followed him. As they silently walked thru the corridor Zoey finally popped the question. "What is the matter Uncle Paul? Does it have something to do with my medication?"

"No, no. You will see what it's all about when we get there…and please call me LabRat."

"LabRat?" Ray exclaimed and stared puzzled at Zoey that stared back. "What kind of a nickname is that?"

"More of a codename actually. Ty and Abby used to call me that all the time." LabRat answered with a smile.

Outside the school was a black Honda parked and Clarence was awaiting them. "You have a friend in the backseat. She can keep you company." LabRat said and Clarence opened one of the doors to the backseat.

Creepy-Crawly was sitting there, glaring angrily at them. "I blame you morons for this." The Archers gulped nervously.

* * *

The car drove towards the Grossology-office. Clarence had his hands on the steering wheel, LabRat had put on a pair of sunglasses, Creepy-Crawly was stewing in her own bitterness, Zoey felt like a lost child in the mall and Ray was sweating bullets.

"So," LabRat broke the silence, "Creepy-Crawly, do you consider Raymond and Zoey your friends?"

Creepy-Crawly gave the Archers a sideways glance. "No, they are my nuisances."

LabRat made a humorous huff. "Well, will you tell your nuisances of who you really are or shall I?"

Creepy-Crawly's eyes flared up. She then looked at Zoey & Ray, scared and insecure. She sighed in defeat. "My parents are Insectiva and Sloppy Joe."

' _Insectiva? Sloppy Joe? Those names were in my dad's computer.'_ Ray thought.

"Back in my days, those two were two of the most dangerous criminals around and now they seem to have returned to the city. Because of you." LabRat elaborated.

"I COULDN'T STAND THEM ANYMORE!" Creepy-Crawly shouted. "My mom kept me isolated in a large cabin in the middle of the woods. I didn't even get to see the city until I ran away three years ago."

"So your mom, Insectiva, does she have wings and mandibles too?" Zoey carefully asked.

"No." Creepy-Crawly sighed and leaned back in her seat. "When I was still a fetus my mom spliced my DNA with that of various arthropods. That is what gave me my mutant powers."

"That's awesome!" Ray exclaimed which caused the two girls to sneer at him. "But wrong, very, very wrong." He corrected.

Creepy-Crawly then sneered at LabRat. "So, are you gonna lock me up for my parent's crimes? May the sins of the father be visited upon the son, is that the deal here pastor." She spat and gave his seat a stern kick.

LabRat simply smiled. "No, I am actually going to offer you a job." He then turned a bit towards Ray & Zoey. "You two as well."

They blinked. "What kind of a job?" Ray asked.

"You'll see."

The car soon reached the Grossology HQ but instead of parking in the usual parking lot Clarence drove the car into a secret underground garage on the other side of the building.

"I am afraid I have been lying to you Zoey." LabRat admitted. "I have always made myself out to be a mere scientist at the bureau but the reality is that I am actually the Director."

"The Director? You mean you govern the entire bureau?" Zoey gasped.

LabRat took off his sunglasses and placed them in the glove compartment. "Yes, ever since the last Director's untimely death." He laid a hand on Clarence's shoulder. "Clarence here was the last Director's nephew. Now he is my executive director, my second in command as to speak."

Zoey was stumped. She had always thought Clarence was Paul's lab assistant. The car stopped. Clarence got out first and helped LabRat into his wheelchair. Then the Archers got out of the car, their stomachs felt like knots. Creepy-Crawly lingered in her seat for a minute before getting out. "If this is a trap, I'll rip your eyes out." She warned LabRat.

"Do not worry Creepy-Crawly. You are safe here." LabRat tried to sound comforting but Creepy felt no less on edge.

* * *

The two adults led the teens into a laboratory, smelling of cleaning polish.

"This little lab might not seem much to the world but back in my golden years this was the heart of the bureau. We called it the Gaglab." LabRat explained.

Ray stooped in his tracks. "The Gaglab?"

"Yes Raymond. I was actually impressed over how close you were at getting into our mainframe."

"You were the one that blocked me?" Ray sounded shocked.

LabRat smirked. "Don't let the wheels fool you, I can do much more than prescribe pills to Zoey."

Clarence walked over to a keyboard on the wall and typed in a few numbers. A vault opened and LabRat rolled in, followed closely by the teenagers and Clarence.

The lamps turned on, shedding light over the dark room. "Wow." Ray said.

The room was filled to the brim with cool stuff. A giant Godzilla-like robot, an enormous mechanical owl, a missile labeled poisoned and a wheatear-balloon shaped like a giant pimple. "The _Gross-Vault_ used to be our evidence locker back when this lab was operational but lately I have turned this into my personal museum." LabRat said before pushing a button on his armrest.

Suddenly the room darkened again and hundreds of holograms ignited. They were news articles describing their parents' heroic deeds.

GROSSOLOGISTS SAVES THE DAY!

GROSSOLOGISTS DEFEATS KID ROT

EPEDEMIC PREVENTED BY GROSSOLOGISTS

CITY THANKS THE BUREAU OF GROSSOLOGY!

YOUNG GROSSOLOGISTS CAPTURES THE SCAB FAIRY

"Okay, I should definitely have saved my 'wow' for this." Ray stated as he and Zoey watched in awe at all the news articles. None of them mentioned Ty or Abby by name but that wasn't necessary cause they recognized their faces on the pictures.

"I can't believe it, both our parents were Grossologists." Zoey stated.

"All four of them actually but Chester and Naomi never became more than part time Grossologists. Abby and Ty were the heart and soul of this bureau." LabRat explained.

Creepy-Crawly also looked at the news articles until she saw one that despaired her. It said _FORMER ENTOMOLOGIST COMMIT HOMICIDE._ It also had a picture of her mom being carried away in a straightjacket by a pair of cops. It made her feel dirty.

"You are not like her, Creepy." LabRat said and she looked at him with vulnerable eyes. "You proved that when you saved Raymond." He then turned to Zoey and Ray. "I was actually very impressed how all of you dealt with Far-Ty."

"Far-Ty?" Ray sounded shocked. "So you knew, you knew he was my dad." His voice were somewhere between despair and condemnation.

LabRat lowered his head. "Yes, this is not the first time your dad has gone over to the fart side but it's not his fault. Far-Ty is a second personality that has taken over your fathers mind. It was first created by a supervillain named Fartor, I have no idea how it reemerged in Ty's psyche so many years after the fact." LabRat explained as he rolled up to the boy. "But I am certain we can get him back."

"We?" Ray blinked confused.

"Yes, I want to make all four of you into junior Grossologists. You will be my undercover group, so while the normal agents deal with the more public stuff you will go after the more obscure bad-guys, including Raymond's father." LabRat explained with gusto as to entice the teenagers.

"Wow, that would be-wait a minute." Zoey raised a puzzled eyebrow. "You said four but we are only three."

"Yes, I was hoping my daughter could join the team as well." LabRat said, his mouth corners tugged.

"I didn't know you had a daughter." Zoey exclaimed surprised.

"O yes, her name is Iris. You have never meet her but I am sure you will get along swimmingly." LabRat stated.

"How old is she?" Ray asked.

"A few months but she is very mature for her age." LabRat answered which caused the rest to look oddly at him. "Come, on she is out in the Gaglab and is very excited to meet you." With that they all headed back to the lab. As they left the vault, the teenagers were discussing the offer.

" _So what do you think, sounds awesome right?"_ Ray whispered. Zoey happily nodded.

" _I don't know."_ Creepy-Crawly said dreary. _"I knew I would have to get a steady job soon enough but Grossology? It just sounds weird."_

Zoey gave the Goth's arm a comforting squeeze. _"It is okay, if you don't want to I am sure Paul won't hold it against you."_

" _But this could be a great opportunity for you. You can really use your powers for something good, plus we can protect you from your parents."_ Ray argued.

Creepy-Crawly chewed on his words, eventually they tasted pretty good.

LabRat lead them to a large electronic chamber, shaped like a bean. He smiled as he tilted up his head. "Iris, sweetie. Your new teammates are here. You can come out now." LabRat seemed to be talking to the ceiling.

After a silent moment he was answered. _"Are you sure?"_ A feminine voice echoed thru the entire lab.

"Yes Iris." LabRat replied.

" _Alright."_ The voice giggled like an overexcited schoolgirl. Then the inside of the chamber started to give of a powerful light. When it ended, the chamber opened up and a horrifying android climbed out. It was short, not taller than Ray and its exoskeleton was obsidian black. It had four red lenses as substitute for eyes. Its arrival startled the three teens but the android just stood still.

Suddenly, the image of the android started to _flicker._ It was like digital light flickered on and off around it until the android was gone and in its place stood a beautiful teenage girl.

She had the same dark skin as LabRat and her raven hair was branded into a pair of short pigtails. Her attire was very colorful. She had a red neckerchief around her neck, a blue skirt, a purple top and a pair of white pants. She looked a bit overdone, like a child playing dress-up.

The others stared at her with perplexed expressions but she simply smiled with the largest pair of heavenly blue eyes they had ever seen. She then turned to LabRat and gingerly ran to him. Ray noticed how artificial her walk looked. Not clumsy in any way but just kind of _rehearsed,_ like she was consciously taking the steeps instead of instinctively like most people. When she reached LabRat she enthusiastically hugged him. "Hey dad. The hologram projector is working at 100% capacity." She said with a more toned down version of the voice that had echoed thru the lab. LabRat softly kissed her temple.

Zoey, Ray & Creepy-Crawly stared dumbfounded at them. "Is she your daughter?" Zoey asked puzzled, scratching her head.

"Yes." LabRat replied, smiling and turned to Iris, still in his arms. "Why don't you introduce yourself to your new friends Iris?"

"Okay." Iris let go off her dad and faced the others. "I am the Intelligent Robotics & Information System but you can call me **I.R.I.S** for short. I was created by Paul Squirfenherder in order to assist the Grossologist in their endeavor to protect the citizens of Ringworm. I am designed to rescue, inform and learn."

The three just continued staring at her. "Uncle Paul has a robot-daughter?" Ray vented in disbelief.

Creepy-Crawly sighed. "Geez, the geeks have finally found a way to reproduce without having sex. God help us."

Feeling her insecurity grow, Iris stepped forward and reached out a hand. "I have read that a handshake is a good way to split the ice."

"It's _break_ the ice, sweetie." LabRat corrected.

Ray shacked the girls hand and was surprised that it did not feel like steel but like flesh. He turned her hand and experimentally squeezed her palm. "Your hands, they are soft and warm. How could that be?"

"I send out electrical impulses that stimulate your nerves into making them think I am made of flesh and skin but I am really just made of metal and digital light." Iris explained.

"Sick." Ray exclaimed. Iris blinked, feeling a bit hurt over what he said.

"He meant that he was impressed Iris." Zoey clarified.

"Oh." Iris vented relieved.

Ray continued squeezing the girl's palm and fingers.

Zoey smirked teasingly. "Hey, if you are going to continue holding her hand like that maybe you should but a ring on it."

Her joke caused Ray to immediately let go of Iris's hand and blush madly as Zoey and Creepy-Crawly laughed at him. Their laughter made the android feel much more relaxed.

Zoey moved closer to Iris. "I am Zoey Archer."

"Nice to meet you Zoey." Iris said.

"I'm Creepy-Crawly Chitin." The Goth girl said monotone, still not really accepting of this android just yet.

"Then we can call you CC or Triple C. You can have an abbreviation just like me." Iris said cheerfully before studying her. "I like your style. Let me test it." Her hologram flicked before turning into a gothic outfit.

Creepy-Crawly looked surprised at her but then grinned. "I think I am going to like you Iris."

Iris smiled and then changed back into her normal clothing. "It fits you much better thou."

Ray placed his fists on his hips. "So, do you girls want to be Grossologists cause my mind is certainly made up."

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms over her chest. "Totally."

"You can count on me coz." Zoey exclaimed.

"Affirmative." Iris stated.

Ray then turned to LabRat. "Well, it seems like we are all in agreement LabRat. From now on we are Grossologist just like our parents were before us." The crippled scientist smiled brightly. This was going to be a return to his glory days and for the teens that stood before him this was the first day on the rest of their lives. "Now, let's go and beat up my dad."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Sorry for the extensive length of this chapter, I just didn't want to continue linger around the first episode. I promise I won't do that again. I realize this chapter has a lot of really unlikely conveniences that results in everyone ends up in the same place but hopefully it does not come off as too forced.**

 **Yes, Ty is back in the form of Far-Ty. He will be one of the series main villains. He and Ray will have this Luke/Darth Vader-thing going on. I just felt Far-Ty was the most natural choice for their first antagonist. Most villains in this fanfic will be original but there will be a few old favorites.**

 **Creepy-Crawly was named after one of the characters in the original Grossology books. She will be the most aggressive and the most violent member of the team. The main inspirations for Creepy-Crawly were Black Alice (DC) and X-23 (X-Men) with a little bit of Raphael (TMNT, 2003) and Revy (Black Lagoon). If she seem a bit mean to Zoey & Ray in this chapter it is mostly because she is not exactly their friend just yet. Sometimes she will be referred to as Creepy or CC for simplicity sake. **

**I.R.I.S was named after a Greek messenger goddess just like LabRat's pet rat Hermes was named after a Greek messenger god. Since she is so young she is pretty naïve but since her brain is practically a super-computer she might also be the most intelligent character. She was mostly inspired by Aya (Green Lantern: The Animated Series), CG (The Future is Wild) and Sarri (Transformers Animated). The reason she looks so exaggerated is simply because she can. Her hologram projector allows her to take any shape and she has the mind of an immature girl so why shouldn't she dress a bit hokey.**

 **I will not recommend theme songs for each chapter just some when I feel it is needed.**

 **Your reviews are greatly appreciated. I am really interested to see what you guys think of Far-Ty being a main villain for this series and what you guys thought about Creepy-Crawly and Iris.**


	5. Shellfish Motives (Part 1)

**Episode 2: Shellfish Motives (Part 1)**

"Aw, man. These clamps are impossible to remove." A sewer worker lamented as he bended off another shell from the inside of a pipe. He and his co-worker were in a sewer, examining some nonfunctioning water pipes.

"Those are not clamps Henri. Those are-

"Spare me the biology lesson Owen." The taller man cut him off. Using a flashlight to light the way, Henri walked up to a chasm. "No wonder the people of this neighborhood can't get the water running, these creatures blocks the way. I think there might be more of them further down. You wanna take a look before we call for some extra hands.

Owen shrugged. "Sure."

Henri placed the flashlight between his teeth and started climbing down the chasm via a ladder. His friend soon followed. Once down on the next plane they discovered that it was covered with garbage and a portion of it was flooded. "Yep, they are here too." Henri stated and waved his flashlight as the white shells.

Owen walked up to the flooded portion. "We should probably tell the people to stop flushing. Without the pipes working the water will just run up here."

Suddenly, a pair of vicelike claws jutted out of the water and grabbed Owen. He shrieked in horror before being dragged down under the water. Henri hadn't had time to see it but he heard it and ran to aid his friend. "Owen, Owen!" He shouted at the water. Suddenly, Owen crawled out of the water. He was panting and bleeding before collapsing. Henri ran up to him. "Owen, how are you?"

"I need a hospital, Henri." Owen replied meekly.

"Of course buddy, of course. Don't worry man." Henri reassured and lifted his friend up onto his shoulder. When he started walking towards the ladder some of the debris started trembling. "What the?"

Suddenly, an eight legged monster with giant claws erupted from underneath the debris. Henri screamed as the monster assaulted him.

From the darkness of a nearby tunnel, an evil woman was observing the mayhem. A sharp-toothed smirk crept over her face.

* * *

 **Cue The Intro.**

* * *

It was in the middle of the night and Raymond Archer walked thru a thick forest, with no obvious destination in mind. He had his orange slimesuit and visors on.

A large monstrous being started towering up from behind the teenager. Ray didn't seem to notice so he continued walking with the monster stalking him. As it stepped into the moonlight, the monster revealed itself to be Sloppy Joe. He got closer and closer until he was ready to strike.

Ray stopped. "You might think I am pretty stupid for not turning around right now." His query gave Sloppy Joe pause. "Well, maybe you should follow your own advice and turn around yourself."

"Uh?" Sloppy Joe followed this advice and turned around only to come face to face with a smirking Creepy-Crawly, now wearing a black slimesuit. The gothic mutant punched Sloppy Joe with a powerful uppercut to the jaw. He stumbled backwards and growled in pain. Creepy-Crawly flapped her wings to gain momentum inorder to kick him in the stomach. The kick sent him into a nearby rock, knocking him out.

"Good job CC." Ray congratulated his teammate.

"Well, I had good bait." Creepy-Crawly said and the two bumped fists.

They suddenly heard a buzzing sound in the sky above. "There is only room for one winged beauty in these skies my pretty," It was the Scab Fairy, "AND THAT IS ME!" The villainess fired her scab-staff at the grossologists. Ray managed to push Creepy-Crawly out of the way.

"Then maybe jet-boosters are still an option." The Scab Fairy turned around and saw a young girl with jet-boosters for shoes flying towards her. It was Iris. She now wore a blue slimesuit, similar to the one her father, LabRat used to wear on field missions. Her hands transformed into goopshooters and she fired upon her opponent. The Scab Fairy managed to avoid the first assault but the second one stuck to her mechanical wings. The wings clogged together and the Scab Fairy fell screamingly to the ground. "Happy landing." Iris waved to her defeated enemy before giving her team a thumbs-up.

Suddenly, a swarm of shrieking bats came flying out of the woods and started attacking Iris, forcing her to land next to her friends. The bats encircled them.

"Where did all these bats come from?" Iris asked.

"I can't call my insects. These bats will just eat them." Creepy-Crawly stated and kicked at the swarming animals. "I don't seem able to kick their furry asses either."

Ray turned to the direction the bats had come from. He clicked on a little button on his visors which activated its x-ray vision. Thru the thick woodwork he could see Darko Crevasse controlling the bats by making click noises with his mouth. "Dorky Dracula-guy at twelve a clock. Zoey, you are up." Ray ordered.

Out of sight from the Grossologists, Darko smirked. They seemed helpless against his flying army. Then the trees around him decayed and crumbled. Darko seemed scared at first but when he saw the perpetrator was only a little girl in a yellow slimesuit he got more confident. "Well, here is a girl that isn't afraid of the dark." He said before whistling and his bats regrouped behind him. "When I'm done, you will be."

Zoey placed a hand on the nearest tree, infecting it with rot. The tree fell right over Darko Crevasse. He shrieked and tried to run away but was pinned under a branch. Zoey walked up to him, smiled and tilted her head. "Timber."

The other grossologists walked up to Zoey. Creepy-Crawly gave her a friendly punch in the shoulder and the two girls exchanged smiles.

A fart-sound was heard and the team started feeling the smell. Creepy-Crawly pinched her nose. "Ewe, who blow a raspberry."

"I think I know." Ray stated and turned around. Fartor aroused with a smokescreen of noxious fumes.

"Do not celebrate before you have defeated me heroes. Fartor, the world's number one deadliest flatologist." Fartor howled.

"Geez, this guy do love talking about himself." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

Fartor released a cloud of toxic glass in their direction.

"Form a huddle girls." Ray ordered. His teammates followed his order and tossed a pair of smoke bombs at the ground. They exploded in pink clouds that blended and dispersed with Fartor's gas. "Liquids or gases, chemicals can always be sped out." Ray directed his left hand towards Fartor and a long sticky thread shot out from a gauntlet on his wrist.

The Gross-Gauntlet was a gadget Ray had invented himself. The old goopshooter was a nice weapon but Ray found it a bit clumsy. Besides, he preferred something more personal. The gauntlet had both a webshooter and a goopshooter and had the same slime-green color as the Grossology logo.

The thread stuck to Fartor's suit and it quickly pulled Ray up. Ray landed on top of Fartor. "Get of me hooligan!" Fartor exclaimed and flew from side to side in order to throw off the Grossologist. Ray tried to hold on by using the web as a harness but he still slip. As he hanged from Fartor's suit he noticed that it had a button at the front. He kicked it and the glass-shield on Fartor's suit shut open. Fartor's breathing air escaped him and he started gasping for air like a stranded fish. Ray let go of him and landed on the ground with a roll. Fartor spiraled out of control, slammed into a tree and fell unconscious to the ground. Smoke leaked from his mechanical suit.

"Sick." Ray exclaimed smugly but internally he thought _'That was for my dad, freak.'_

"Okay, take it easy!" LabRat's voice echoed thru the room. "The holo-robots are not indestructible and they are not cheap!" The forest turned into a training room and the villains turned into robots, gray versions of Iris but without her A.I.

It had only been a holographic simulation.

"These optical illusions are amazing." Zoey stated.

"Thanks, I designed it myself." Iris said.

"Could have guessed." Ray complimented.

Creepy-Crawly looked up at LabRat. "So LabRat, did we nail it or what?"

LabRat was up in a booth, overlooking the entire training session. He rolled onto a small platform that lowered him down to the floor. "Well, considering that you took down all the antagonists without getting harmed yourself and that Ray & Creepy-Crawly didn't try to beat the crud out of each other…"

"It was a onetime mistake and we did say we were sorry." Ray argued with his arms crossed.

"I didn't." Creepy-Crawly squeaked.

"Well, I guessed it was implied." Ray exclaimed.

"Anyway," LabRat spoke again. "I have decided that you guys pass for Junior Grossologists."

"Yes!" Zoey exclaimed.

"Finally." Creepy-Crawly muttered. "Can't believe it only took us 62 times for us to get it right."

Iris projected a cowboy hat on top of her head and then lifted it off. "Our hats of for Ray, dad. It was thanks to his strategy that we won."

Ray smiled but tried to be modest. "It was no big deal. I knew that the bad-guys were going to be on the offensive."

"Despite that, you did do a few mistakes." LabRat said and turned to Zoey. "Zoey, did you have to bring an entire tree down on Darko? We are here to capture the bad-guys, not break their spines."

"I'm sorry Uncle Pau-I mean LabRat. I promise, I won't do that in the field." Zoey apologized. She was so used to call him Uncle Paul that calling him LabRat or Director still felt strange. She was glad he was with them thou, she had always been able to trust him.

"Also Ray," LabRat turned to Ray now, "as impressive as your plan was, did you really have to spread out the team so thin?"

"Thin?" Ray was surprised that his mentor would find a flaw in his strategy. "What do you mean?"

"All of your teammates was alone for a good while there. What if the bad-guys had teamed up against only one of you?" LabRat asked with raised eyebrows, giving him that "you get it?" look.

"Then they would have contacted the rest of us." Ray stated.

"Won't always be an opportunity for that. Always look after your teammates before you look after your enemy." LabRat said.

Ray hung his head. "Sorry, I didn't think of that. I will do better next time."

LabRat smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Things like that comes with experience. Despite what some people think, practice doesn't make perfect. Other elements are also necessary."

A pair of doors opened and Clarence walked in. "Hey kids." He greeted in that friendly manner they had gotten used too.

"Hey Clarence." All the teenagers said.

"Can I have a word alone with The Director?"

"Excuse me a moment." LabRat said politely and rolled over to Clarence, leaving the teens to talk amongst themselves. "So, co-captain. What ya want?" LabRat cheerfully asked.

Clarence first looked critically towards the teens to make sure they didn't hear him. He leaned in towards his boss. _"We can still cancel this project."_ He whispered.

"What? The kids have been training for an entire week. They are ready for a mission." LabRat protested.

Clarence pinched his nosebridge and sighed. "Sir, when you brought forward the idea of restarting the Junior Grossologist-program I made my objection known but I still trusted your judgement because you are my boss and my uncle's successor but quite frankly I still worry over all of this." The executive Director lamented and rubbed his neck. "This could be a PR nightmare. At least let a certified adult follow them on their missions."

"You mean like _The Detective?"_ LabRat said with a large ear to ear smile.

Clarence's jaw dropped as he just stared at his boss. "O my god. You are actually spinning this to feed your nostalgic obsession. Why can't you just let the past be the past? Besides, I think The Detective is retired."

"I will have to think of someone that can replace him." LabRat replied.

Meanwhile, the teens were talking between themselves. Creepy-Crawly was inspecting Ray's weaponry. "You built this wrist-gun yourself?" She asked, holding his arm.

"Yes and it's called a gauntlet." Ray stated.

"O, fancy smanzy." Creepy-Crawly cooed.

"Well, you didn't seem to need weapons to kick ass." Ray said. While he certainly was impressed with Creepy's fighting ability he was also trying to extend an olive branch to the mutant goth. While the girls all got along for the most part and Ray and Iris had become very good friends since they meet, he and Creepy-Crawly had a rather rocky relationship. Ray's logical thinking often clashed with Creepy's violent impulses so he tried to be extra friendly to her.

"Thanks." The Goth said.

"But…wasn't it hard to beat up your own dad? I mean I know it wasn't really him but still." Ray asked curious.

Even though he thought Creepy-Crawly would be ticked she just smirked. "Are you kidding? A lot of people would pay good money for that kind of therapy."

"Raymond, Zoey, Creepy-Crawly!" All teens turned to LabRat that had finished his discussion with his SIC. "You guys better head home now. Remember, today is Iris's and Creepy's first day in school."

"Alright!" Iris exclaimed cheerfully and made a happy jump.

Creepy-Crawly thou, scowled and rolled her eyes. "O joy." She vented sarcastically.

* * *

Later, on the buss to school.

Iris was figuratively jumping of the walls from excitement. "I am going to mark this in my calendar. April the twelfth, 2026, my first time on a public transportation system." The juvenile African-American turned to Zoey & Creepy-Crawly in the seat behind her. "Isn't this exciting, CC?"

All she got in response was laud snoring from Creepy-Crawly that was asleep with a long string of drool hanging from her mouth.

"What's with her?" Iris asked.

"She is just celebrating her youth like any other teenager, by sleeping in the mornings." Zoey quipped.

"You should wake her up. Its only 210 meters left to school. She should see it." Iris exclaimed.

"Okay." Zoey said and started rubbing Creepy-Crawly's arm. "Wakey, wakey Creepy."

The mutant opened her eyes and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

* * *

The three girls walked out of the bus. Zoey was clutching her arm. "You almost pulled my arm out of its socket?"

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have woken me but I'm sure your school have one of those, what do you call them? Nurses?" Creepy-Crawly said.

"Hey girls." Ray walked up to them. "Iris, you look happy today."

"That's correct." Iris responded.

"I don't understand why thou." Creepy-Crawly spat. "Aren't your brain connected to the web or something? What do you need an education for?"

"I don't need one but I want one." Iris answered. "Dad told me that while school is not for everybody everyone should at least try it. Also, if I am going to understand humans better I need to interact with them."

* * *

The group encountered Ray's friends in the school hallway. NJ and Candice was talking and Hugo seemed annoyed. "You know, the fact that you two have been able to keep up this debate on who would win in a fight between a T-rex and a Rancor for 25 minutes is pretty impressive. Or perhaps depressing, depending on how you look at it." Hugo exclaimed.

"Hey guys." Ray greeted as the two groups meet.

"Hey, what's up?" Hugo said as his eyes inspected the two strangers.

"This is my new friends, Iris and Creepy-Crawly." Ray proclaimed and gestured to the aforementioned girls.

The three nerds looked puzzled at each other before looking at Creepy-Crawly. "Um, is that your real name?" Candice asked puzzled.

"Yes it is." Creepy-Crawly stated, slightly annoyed.

"We call her CC. It's cuter." Zoey quipped.

"That it is." NJ said slyly and stroked his hair back.

' _Aw, great. He is in his flirt-mode. That's almost as bad as his drunk-mode.'_ Ray thought and rolled his eyes.

NJ reached out a greeting hand to the Goth which she chock. "Hey, I am NJ. See, my name is an acronym, your name is an acronym. I feel a connection brewing here."

Creepy-Crawly was unmoved by the ginger's obvious advancements. She raised a confused eyebrow. "Have you been working out?"

"No, I was born with this Herculean physic." He replied and flexed his invisible biceps.

"Um, no. I meant your pit stains." Creepy-Crawly pointed at his armpits. "They are like…continents on a map."

NJ pouted and rested his knuckles on his hips. "I happen to have a gland problem. Thank you."

"First role if you want to survive high school, ignore NJ." Candice joked before shaking hands with Creepy-Crawly & Iris. "I'm Candice, wildlife's my game."

"I'm Hugo." Hugo greeted and chock their hands. "So, were are you from?"

"From right here in Ringworm." Iris replied. "This is our first time in a public school."

"So you're homeschooled?" Candice asked.

"CC is. I have been feed information via the internet." Iris explained.

"Who hasn't?" Hugo shrugged nonchalantly. He then looked at Zoey. "So Zoey, I have added some new details to our billboard for the Biology project. You wanna check?"

"I better do." Zoey replied pleasantly and she and Hugo walked away.

"Well, me and NJ have home-economics now but it was really nice meeting you two. Can't wait to talk more." Candice said and dragged NJ away from the two new hotties.

Once they were alone Ray looked to Iris & Creepy-Crawly. "Come on, I think I know where your lockers are." He jerked his head and they followed him thru the hallways.

"Ray, I think there's something wrong with Hugo and…that other guy." Iris exclaimed worried.

"What? Why?" Ray asked.

"I measured their hormones levels. They were sky high."

Ray stared at the android. "Okay, first of all, that is perfectly normal for teenage boys and two, can you measure a person's hormone levels?"

"Yes, I have an inbuilt chemical scanner that register even the smallest trace of hormones or pheromones in the air." Iris explained.

"Okay, that is awesome but when we are at school can you please shut it down. It's an invasion of privacy." Ray said.

"Alright." Iris exclaimed and blinked. "Done."

"Well Iris can turn of her chemical scanner but I can't." Creepy-Crawly lamented. "I have a very sensitive nose and this place reeks of hormones, sweat and period blood."

Ray sighed. "This is gonna be a long semester."

* * *

Meanwhile…

Abby sat in front of the computer at her work. Even thou she was no longer a Grossologist she still had access to the bureau's files. She was reading thru the mission files of hers and Ty's last missions. Based on what Naomi had told her about the night Ty disappeared he must have known something was going to happen.

Like everyone else, Abby had thought her brother had died that night but that was until last week when she met him but in the form of Far-Ty. She blamed herself. She had been his sister, his partner, his best friend. How could she not have noticed that something had been wrong with him?

"Hey Abby." Gerome greeted as he walked into the room.

Abby minimized the files and pretended to read the news. "Hey Gerome."

"Albeit for me to tell you how to do your job but you still have test samples to analyze." Gerome pointed out.

Abby gave her friend a threatening glare. "I'm taking a break Gerome. There are other forensic scientists here."

Gerome made a grimace of disbelief and leaned against her computer. "Abby. You are looking for Ty aren't you?"

Abby flinched. _'Damn. Why can't he be as gullible as he was when we were teenagers?'_ She sighed and brought up the files on the computer. "Yes I have."

She had only told three people about Ty's return. First was LabRat, that already knew somehow. Then she had told her husband. The night after her meeting with Far-Ty she had broken down in front of him and being the kindhearted man Chester was he had let her cry out in his arms until she felt good enough to talk about it. Last was Gerome that had managed to put two & two together after Abby's extreme reaction to the news.

"Are you going to try to find him?" Gerome asked like she was on trial.

"You already know the answer to that." Abby replied annoyed.

"I guess I can't stop you."

"Nope."

"Very well then." Gerome said and took off his heavy backpack. He opened it and took out a heavy bunch of papers, all held together with steel flex thru a hole. Abby stared at like it was alien. "The Far-Ty personality was first created by Fartor, right? So we should investigate him first." Gerome said while skimming thru a few of the papers.

"Why have you done all this?" Abby asked perplexed.

"Because you're my friend Abby and because I have never been able to stop you from doing something stupid." Gerome replied.

Abby smiled and got of her chair. "Gerome, you are the best."

* * *

Creepy-Crawly's first class was English. Zoey was there too so that was a plus but she still had to go thru the embarrassing process of presenting herself to the other students. As she stood in front of everyone people were already staring at her and whispering to each other.

Their English teacher was a jolly middle age man with a thick brown beard. "Now class, we have a new student joining us today." He said and gestured to Creepy-Crawly. "I want you all to make her feel welcome. Do you want to introduce yourself sweetie?"

"Um, sure. I am Creepy-Crawly Chitin and yes, that is my real name." She exclaimed dryly.

"Anything you want to say about yourself?" The teacher tried to encourage her.

"Um…" The Goth tried searched her head for anything to say that wouldn't be confidential or boring. "I guess I like what most people like. Pizza, wrestling, movies, buzzing with friends and I guess I like death rock."

"Alright, does anyone has any questions for Miss…Chitin?" The teacher asked, looking at Creepy-Crawly to make sure he got her name right.

Zack stuck up his hand. "Are you a vampire?"

Creepy-Crawly sighed grudgingly. "No, I am not a vampire."

Zack once again stuck up his hand. "Are you a ghoul?"

"No. I am not a ghoul or a vampire or a zombie or a ghost. I just happen to have a skin condition." _'You wouldn't look so good either if your mom experimented on you as a fetus.'_

Molina stuck up her hand. "How did you get that scar on your face?"

"I had to fight a wolf over a dead moose." Creepy-Crawly replied.

There was a moment of silence and then the entire class erupted into laughter.

* * *

Iris meanwhile had it a bit easier in physics class.

"Today we will start talking about motion." The teacher announced and started writing on the board. "Can someone tell me what the three laws of motions are called?"  
Iris stuck up her hand.

"Yes, the new girl." The teacher nodded.

"Newton's Three Laws of Motion." Iris answered.

"Correct. These three law-

"First law is called the law of inertia. An object at rest will remain at rest till acted upon by an outside source and an object in motion will remain in motion until acted upon by an outside source. Two, an object in motion will accelerate when force acts on mass. Greater mass will always need more force. Three, for every action there is an equal reaction."

Everyone stared at her. The teacher in particular was dumbfounded. "Um…yes, that's right. I guess we can move on to its history."

"Isaac Newton was born in England 25th December, 1642. He was named after his father that passed away three months earlier. He derived the-

"Iris." The teacher stopped her. "While I am sure your expertise in this topic is worth notoriety can you please allow me to speak?"

"Sorry, I forgot the cultural norm. I'll be quiet." Iris said.

Hugo nudged Ray in the side. "Your new friend is really smart."

"You have no idea." Ray replied.

* * *

Creepy-Crawly was in the girls' bathroom where she had gotten an idea to avoid the disgusting odors of sweat, hormones and cheap perfume. She took some soap and smeared it on her over lip and on her antennas, hidden among her hair locks. The smell of citrus wasn't exactly her favor but it was the best she could found. She remembered that Candice smelled pretty good so she might be able to ask her for whatever lotion she used but right now she wasn't very acquainted with the dinosaur-geek so this had to do.

"There you are goth-girl."

Creepy-Crawly imbedded her antenna just in time to see Molina & Rachel step into the bathroom.

"Now remind me, was it a wolf or a lion that gave you that scar?" Molina teased condescendingly.

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms over her chest and squinted her eyes. "A wolf." Her reply was short and stern.

"Ooh, impressive. Was it a werewolf perhaps?"

Rachel snickered. "Yeah, that's about as believable."

Creepy-Crawly sighed. "Leave me alone. I am not in the mood."

"Awe, what's wrong? Does the creepy-crawly need to molt?" Molina mocked.

"No but I think Rachel needs a new tampon." Creepy-Crawly smirked. She wasn't lying either.

"What did you say to me?" Rachel shouted. "You can't talk to me like that you freaky weirdo."

"Rachel is right. Someone that looks like the living dead and smell like a stink bug needs to learn her place." Molina excalimed, pooking CC's chest wither her index.

Creepy-Crawly just reached the end of her ropes…

* * *

Later that day, Ray, Iris & Zoey stood in line for lunch in the school-cafeteria.

Iris tapped Ray on the back. "Hey, Ray?"

"Yeah."

"If you don't remember, I don't actually have a mouth so I can't really eat any of this." She explained nervously.

"Good, that makes you like the rest of us." Ray joked. His grossometer peeped and he picked it up from his pocket. It was a message from LabRat.

' _Lay of the food tray and come down to the gaglab.  
It's time for your first mission.'_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Aw, I can't help but to think of Jon Hammond from Jurassic Park when writing LabRat in this. He is so enthusiastic and really want to do something good but you can't help but feel like his vision might be clouding his judgement. Will this lead him down the path of ruin? We'll see.**

 **The scene in the training room where the new Grossologists fight the old villains was inspired by a scene in Batman Beyond (episode 'Terry's Friend Dates a Robot'). My story and Batman Beyond already have several similarities and I wanted to give the fans that miss these villains some lip service.**

 **As you may notice, this episode will mostly focus on Creepy-Crawly but I will also have a few scenes dealing with Abby as she investigates Far-Ty.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this new episode and as usual I would really appreciate it if you reviewed this chapter.**


	6. Shellfish Motives (Part 2)

**Episode 2: Shellfish Motives (Part 2)**

Creepy-Crawly was the last to arrive at the gaglab. She, like the rest of the team was in their slimesuits. "Please tell me all the teachers are secretly supervillains so I can kick their asses." She blustered.

"Woow, bad first day at school Creepy-Crawly?" LabRat asked.

"She almost scalped Molina." Zoey replied.

"No, I didn't!" Creepy-Crawly snapped before crossing her arms. "I just…loosened some of her skin when I pulled her hairdo and because of that I now have detention for two weeks."

"Take a seat in the couch CC." LabRat said and gestured to a large sofa in the middle of the lab.

"I doubt a couch will help LabRat." Creepy-Crawly said before heading for the couch. "I have had the worst day. I had to endure a sea of disgusting odors, idiots that has no reason to be there since they obviously haven't advanced since kinder garden, I was hit on by a smelly Star Wars-geek and verbally assaulted by a total-O my god, this is a nice couch." She sighed happily as she slumped down in the couch. The backrest was so soft it seemed to be eating her alive, which she didn't have anything against.

Zoey sat down in a meditation position next to Creepy and Iris handed out juice packs to everyone before sitting down herself. Ray opted to stand, resting his elbows against the backrest.

"So, shall we get down to business?" LabRat announced and rolled up in front of them. He used a remote to lower down a television. "Last night, a pair of plumbers were investigating some nonfunctioning pipes under Carni Street. They were found earlier this morning with several lacerations over their bodies. They are alive but in severe shock." The visuals on the television matched what he was telling and the four teens were listening intently. "The surgeons concluded that their injuries were caused by sharp steel, most likely from scrap metal that was dumbed in the sewers. The details are not clear but what is the most interesting to us is what these two plumbers found. The reason those pipes were nonfunctioning was because of…barnacles."

The teens' serious expressions turned into dumbfounded sneers. "Barnacles?" Creepy-Crawly exclaimed confused.

"Yeah, barnacles. Small stationary sea creatures." LabRat clarified and deactivated the television set.

"Um, why are we called in to fix this?" Ray asked confused.

LabRat interlocked his fingers. "Because they are disgusting and causing a lot of problem."

"Haven't we proven ourselves being capable of more extreme stuff than a tiny shellfish infestation?" Creepy-Crawly complained.

"Forget that, what about my dad?" Ray almost shouted. "I joined this bureau to find him and now you are sending us to this joke of a mission." He sounded angry but also rather sad.

LabRat sighed. "We have no lead on your father yet Ray but I promise I will tell you when we have. Until then it would be wise for you to gain some experience. Grossology is about more than fighting bad guys and monsters. It's also about science. That's something I know you are good at." He gave a reassuring smile.

Ray clenched his fists and sighed. "Fine."

* * *

Abby was now face to face with Fartor but it was quite a different experience from meeting him nineteen years ago. The supervillain laid in a hospital bed at Ringworm's Hospital, hooked up to several tubes. One was a respirator that pumped in the necessary gases the methane breather needed to stay alive while others provided him with nutrients and vitamins. He was drooling and barely breathing

"So, this is Fartor?" Gerome asked, not really sure what to think.

"Yep, same old gas-cloud." Abby replied. She knew she should be angry at this man for ruining her family but it was hard to be angry at a man that was more dead than alive.

"How did he get like this?" Gerome asked.

Abby sighed. She could remember her last encounter with Fartor like it was yesterday. "It happened about two years before Ty and I quite our jobs as Grossologists. Fartor had always been unstable but when he discovered that the same noxious gases that mutated him had also caused a brain tumor that would soon deprive him of almost all brain functionality he just lost it. He built a gas bomb that would destroy the entire planet's stratosphere and kidnaped his brother Gary, the one responsible for his condition. We found him and his bomb in a subterranean lab. When Fartor saw us, he activated the bomb, grabbed his brother and fled even deeper underground. Ty said he could defuse the bomb and that I should pursue Fartor." Abby smiled sadly as she remembered Ty. "I never liked admitting it but he was smarter than me and had a better chance of deactivating the bomb then I did, so I followed Fartor down the tunnels. I spent hours searching for this monster until I heard a scream. I ran to the source as fast as I could but it was too late. Fartor was in no better condition than he is now and Gary was gone. The only thing left of him was his bloodstained shirt. Fartor laid next to a deep chasm so I think you can guess as to what happened to Gary. Gary was a bad man but he did not deserve to die like that." Abby said broodingly. "When I returned, Ty had disarmed the bomb and we turned Fartor in to the authorities."

"Did Ty act any differently after that?" Gerome asked concerned.

"Gerome, I barely saw Ty outside of work." Abby admitted mournfully. "Naomi was pregnant and needed Ty at home and just a few weeks later I found out that I was pregnant too. Plus, we had to keep up with our normal jobs which was hard enough." She could feel the tears stinging the inside of her eyes. "Maybe if I hadn't been working so much I could have noticed that something was wrong with him."

"It wasn't your fault." The words of comfort did surprisingly not come from her partner but from Fartor's nurse, Catharine. She was a tall woman with auburn hair. "Many loved ones that comes here say the same thing but it's usually not their fault. Few tragedies can ever be predicted."

Abby furrowed her brows. "I am not a loved one of _him."_

"I know, this poor man doesn't have any." Catharine said with a sad smile and walked up to Fartor's bed to change one of the medicinal bags.

"Excuse me for sounding cold Catharine but why is Larry still kept alive?" Gerome asked. "I mean this doesn't seem like a life worth living."

"It stood in his will that he did not want euthanasia." The nurse replied.

"Still, it has been over a decade. How can he afford the healthcare?" The detective asked.

"The bureau of Grossology is paying for it."

This surprised Gerome. "Why?"

"Fartor had plenty of secrets. Maybe one day he will be well enough to tell those secrets but I doubt it."

"Does he understand what we are saying?" Abby asked.

"Hard to say. Sometimes he responds, other times he don't. His synapses are a bit…flunky." Catharine explained.

Abby walked up to bedridden Fartor and squatted down to his eyelevel. "Hey Larry. Do you remember me? I am Abby Archer."

The eyes in Fartor's sockets moved ever so slightly in her direction.

"Have my brother been visiting you recently?" Abby asked. Fartor's eyes widen, his pupils vibrated.

' _He looks scared but is he scared of me or my questions? First time Ty became Far-Ty he saw Fartor as a mentor and as an older brother. Now that he is back he should have been making contact with him.'_ Abby thought.

She asked again. "It is important for me to know Larry. Have you meet Ty Archer recently?"

Fartor gurgled and then started coughing, spit stained the inside of his mouthpiece and then he started vomiting white foam.

"What's happening?" Abby asked startled.

Catharine rushed into action. She managed to pull the globe-shaped man onto a sitting position. He took a few heavy breaths before going back to his vegetated state. Catharine sighed in relief. "These things happens from time to time. Can you please leave now?" She said sternly.

Gerome & Abby walked out of the room, closing the door behind them. Abby turned to her friend with crossed arms. "Well, I guess that crosses of Fartor as the one responsible for Far-Ty the sequel."

Gerome clutched his chin, deep in thought. "Ty could still have visiting him while no one was looking. Of course the only way to know that is to go thru hours of boring surveillance photage."

"Up for movie night?" Abby asked sarcastically.

"Sure, I just have to check on somethings. You can grab the tapes and I'll see you back at the station." Gerome replied. Abby smiled and nodded. They parted ways but Gerome had a serious look on his face. Somethings fishy going on here, he could feel it.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Grossology team was in the sewers, investigating the barnacles.

"Is it weird that I prefer the smells here over the ones at school?" Creepy-Crawly asked, sniffing the air.

"Well, most people get sick from breathing in too much of this stuff so don't get used to it." Zoey stated.

Ray & Iris closely studied the barnacles before turning to the others. "Well, after looking more closely at these crustaceans we have found at least two big abnormalities about them." Iris said.

"First, they are of the family Lepas," Ray exclaimed.

"Which means they should live in the oceans," Iris continued.

"Yet somehow they can survive in freshwater." Ray explained.

"Secondly, they are much bigger than normal." Iris took her turn.

"Something or someone are making them bigger." Ray concluded.

Creepy-Crawly raised an eyebrow. "Please never finish each other's sentences again."

Ray didn't really care what Creepy-Crawly had to say. He walked up to the chasm at the end of the sewer line. He looked down at the giant pit.

Zoey walked up to her cousin. "What are you thinking?"

"The injured sewer workers were found down there. I think I want to see what they came across down there." Ray exclaimed and got down on the ladder.

"But what if the same thing happens to you?" Zoey asked worried.

Ray made a line from his web shooter and tied one end to the ladder and the other end to his belt. "If I scream pull me up."

Creepy-Crawly came up to them. "And what are we supposed to do?"

"Barnacles are arthropods, aren't they? Try to talk to them. You still do that, right?" Ray sarcastically replied before climbing down the ladder.

"Why does your cousin always have to be such a smartass?" Creepy-Crawly sighed as they headed back to the infested pipe.

"I think it came with the glasses." Zoey joked, earning a light giggle from Creepy-Crawly.

"Well, there is no substances in the water that would cause any of these mutations." Iris said after having examined the water left in the pipes.

Creepy-Crawly stuck her antennas inside the pipe and one of the barnacles started stroking them with its cirri (arms that project out of the shell).

"Ask it why they are here." Iris stated.

Creepy did as she was told and secreted some pheromones out of her antennas. "Okay, _he_ is saying that their master sent them here." The goth translated.

"Ask who their master is." Zoey recommended.

Creepy-Crawly exchanged smellograms with the barnacle once again. "It said their master is their master."

"Well, that doesn't help us at all." Iris stated.

"Sad we can't ask them how their master looks like since they don't have any eyes." Zoey said.

Unknown to the three girls, someone was observing them from a dark tunnel nearby. Her large dark eyes looked on with great interest, especially towards the gothic mutant. She then retreated into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Ray was investigating down in the pit. The ground was wet and squish sounds where made whenever he took a step. There were more barnacles but they didn't interest him. "Well, there is scrap metal here but unless they fell from the sewer line I don't understand how they could have cut themselves so badly." Ray reasoned with himself. He then looked at the flooded part of the pit. "Did the water overflow this place and they got mangled by the swirl?" He stroked his finger across his chin while he considered this. He then saw something odd lying next to the water.

It looked like a white and transparent sheet cover. He bended down over it and when he squeezed it between his fingers he realized it wasn't fabric, it was organic. "What the?" He pulled out his Grossometer and called Iris. "Iris, I am sending you some data of this…well I don't know what it is, otherwise I wouldn't be asking you." He explained and activated the Grossometers bio-scanner.

"Go ahead friend." Iris said cheerfully. Iris was practically a walking, talking Grossometer and with direct access to the Gaglab's database. LabRat had said that they could ask him for help but Ray wanted to prove they could handle this without him.

"You know, it's weird but this is very familiar." Ray said. "When I was younger my granddad took me and my dad on crab fishing." He let out a humored chuckle. "If I didn't know better I would actually believe this is the shed skin of a giant-

Suddenly, a colossal crab emerged from the water. It was four meters wide and over two meters long. It headed towards the Grossologist.

"…Crab."

The giant crustacean attacked. Ray let out a scream and just as the crab was about to swipe its claws at him someone tugged the line that was attached to his hip. Thou, instead of being pulled upwards he flew backwards and hit his head against the wall. "Owe. What the hell?"

"Sorry, was just trying to help." Zoey shouted down at him.

The crab attacked again but before it could grasp Ray Creepy-Crawly jumped down and heel-kicked the creature's head. The crab stumbled away in pain as blood poured from its head. "You know, this like the third time I save you like this. A few more I might start charging you." The Goth humored.

"You can be cute later, just disarm that crab." Ray ordered.

Creepy-Crawly ran up to the crustacean and punched it between the eyes. "Sorry honey but I can't let you go around and eat plumbers and beat up my friends. You should leave that to Bowzer and me." She exclaimed with a smirk.

The crab was about to slash Creepy-Crawly with its claw but Iris flew down and shot it with her inbuilt goopshooters. The goop daubed together the crab's claws but it still used it as a sledge to swat at Creepy. It hit and Creepy-Crawly was flown halfway across the pit. Still, the crab had had enough. It crawled back into the water and disappeared. Iris circled over the water, trying to spot it. "It's gone!" She announced.

"Good riddance." Ray said.

Zoey climbed down the stairs before gingerly jumping onto the floor. "So now we have two species of crustaceans that are must bigger than usual."

Creepy-Crawly got onto her feet, groggily rubbed her aching head. "Yeah, and I think I know who is behind it." She said in a serious tone.

* * *

The team was back in the gaglab. A computer screen had brought up a profile of Cara Chitin, aka Insectiva. "It has to be my mother." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed. She stood by the computer while the rest sat in the couch, except for LabRat in his wheelchair of course. "She is just doing this to lure me out so that she can catch me. She is as obsessed about me as she is about non-human bugs."

"That is an interesting um, hypothesis CC but it's rather flawed." LabRat carefully stated and drove up to the computer screen. He typed and several image of Insectiva with beetles and flies showed up. "Barnacles and crabs are crustaceans and Insectiva was only interested in insects. This is just not her MO."

"So?" Creepy-Crawly stretched her arms out. "Maybe she has changed. You said yourself that she and my dad is in the city and clearly someone has been tinkering with the genes of these animals. Who else but Insectiva could it be?"

Ray stood up. "I am not so much interested in _who_ is doing this as much as _why_ they are doing this." He nodded towards Iris. The android projected a hologram from her eyes. It was a map over the city and some areas was marked with red spots. "Iris and I have been noted similar reports of barnacles in the sewers and they are all from the lowland area of the city. I think someone is trying to create some serious flooding." Ray explained.

"It could just be because the sea is closest to those areas and the crustaceans recently emigrated from the coast." Zoey peeped quietly from the couch.

Ray scratched his neck. "I guess that is possibility."

"It is my mother I tell you." Creepy-Crawly insisted.

"We can discuss this later. It will take a while to analyze the DNA from the barnacles and the…crab blood." LabRat exclaimed. "Zoey, Ray you two can go home since school is pretty much over already. You Creepy has detention to get to."

Creepy-Crawly growled and stormed out of the room.

"Dad, can I go with Ray & Zoey?" Iris asked.

"Sure, I have some work to do in the office anyway." LabRat replied.

Iris tilted her head a bit. "You know that I am always here right? My personality is on the internet."

"Sure." LabRat chuckled and kissed Iris's forehead. She then ran off with her friends.

* * *

LabRat was almost at his office when he saw Clarence waiting by the door. "You have a visitor inside sir. I told him you were busy but he didn't want to leave." The brunette whispered to him.

LabRat raised an eyebrow. Clarence stepped aside and opened the door for his superior. Once inside LabRat saw that it was Gerome. The detective had a serious scowl on his face.

"Detective Gerome. Long time no see." LabRat merrily greeted before turning to Clarence. "Clarence, can you be so kind as to get some cups of water for me and the detective," He looked at Gerome, "or maybe you prefer coffee?"

Gerome plastered on a small smile. "Water will do fine."

"I actually prefer coffee but it's easier to swallow my medication with water." LabRat exclaimed as he parked his wheelchair behind the white office desk. "So, based on that discontent face of yours I guess this is not a social visit."

"No, it's not. I am helping Abby to find Ty?" Gerome responded.

LabRat blinked surprised. "Really? That is interesting. I knew she would try to find him but I did not expect her to ask you for help."

"She didn't, I volunteered. Abby is my friend and Ty used to be a nice guy," the former boy scout narrowed his eyes, "so seeing him in a gasmask and picking fights super powered teenagers seem a bit out of character for him."

"I can assure you that my bureau is doing all it can to find him." LabRat said. Clarence placed two cups of water on each side of the desk. LabRat then dropped a pair of effervescent tablet into the cup. It gave of a hiss as the tablets started disintegrating.

"Found anything?" Gerome asked skeptically.

"We did get an anonymous tip about a lab Far-Ty might have used. We found something that once could have been a lab but he had already moved everything before we got there. Of course you understand I can't reveal the name of the source nor the location of this lab to a civilian." LabRat explained.

"Doesn't interest me." Gerome said, trying to sound unimpressed. "We visited Fartor at the hospital and Abby told me about the last time the Archer duo meet the methane-breather."

"Really?" LabRat inquired.

"Yeah but she did not tell me what was going on at Ty's end of the story. I know he made a field report and I want to read it." Gerome exclaimed.

"You know those field reports are classified, detective." LabRat shook his head.

Gerome seemed rather annoyed by this. "Listen, we both know something happened between Ty telling his sister to go down into the caves and Ty saving the day and I think that was what triggered the Far-Ty personality."

"There is a big hole in that theory. That was sixteen years ago. A bit of a long time effect wouldn't you say?" LabRat stated in a snarky manner.

"Except that according to Naomi's testimony, Ty knew what was coming. Maybe he had known it was coming for very long time and don't you think that a man as intelligent as Ty would try to find help for it?" Gerome tilted his head in an angle, looking cryptically. "And who better to get help from but you, _LabRat?_ "

LabRat gave a hearty chuckle. "You are grasping for straws detective." He took a long slurp out of the cup of mineral water. He then gave Gerome an impish smirk. "But they are very good straws." He looked to his co-director. "Clarence, go fetch Ty's field reports from 16 to 17 years ago, you know where they are."

"Um, yes sir." Clarence scratched his head and walked away.

LabRat turned his attention back to Gerome. He interlocked his hands in front of his face. "Now, I have question for _you,_ Detective…"

Gerome tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

"How do you feel about working for me?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hmm…A paranoid investigator that solves mysteries with an attractive red-head? I did not realize it at first but yeah, Abby and Gerome is pretty much like Scully & Mulder.**

 **So, Fartor is a vegetable now. That is kind of a downer. He was one of my favorite villains.**

 **I want to clarify that Zoey is actually wrong when she says that barnacles lack eyes. Barnacles have eyes but they are very different from ours. They are eye-spots, primitive eyes that can only see the difference between light and dark. So in a way she was right and in another way she was wrong, it depend on how you classify an eye.**

 **I will finish this episode in the next chapter.**

 **Your reviews are highly appreciated.**


	7. Shellfish Motives (Part 3)

**Episode 2: Shellfish Motives (Part 3)**

Creepy-Crawly had been sitting for hours in detention. Her homework was already done and now she was just waiting it out. Only two other students sat with her in the silent classroom. Zack, which sat a few rows behind her and a large muscular guy that had yet to say a word. The teacher that supervised them was the woodshop teacher Mr. Headings. Creepy found him a bit nicer than most teachers and she liked the smell of sawdust he brought into the room. That might be a weird thing to focus on but like her parents, Sloppy Joe and Insectiva, Creepy-Crawly lived in a world where smells played a much bigger role than looks or sounds. Still, Creepy-Crawly had a hard time liking anyone that operated as her warden.

Zack ripped off a piece of blue sticky tack he had stored in his desk. He smirked mischievously as he rolled it into a tiny ball. He stuck it in a tube, took aim and blew at Creepy-Crawly.

The Goth flinched when she felt something hit her. She turned her head and saw Zack, giggling. She gave him a threatening stare but otherwise didn't do anything. She felt something hit her again. Growling, she turned to the sniggering Zack.

" _Stop. It."_ She hissed before turning away. Zack once again rolled up a ball of sticky tack and fired at her. It hit its mark. "I said STOP IT!" She got onto her feet, faced her baiter and flipped a chair to the floor.

"Creepy-Crawly?" Headings exclaimed sternly. "What is your problem?"

"Zack is hitting me with spitballs."

Headings scowled at Zack. "Zack, take your stuff and sit down, front row."

"Aw, come on." Zack whined.

"Now!" The teacher stated. Zack reluctantly grabbed his backpack and sat down by another desk up front.

Creepy-Crawly stroked her hair, searching for the goo stuck in her locks. "Can I go to the bathroom?" She asked the teacher.

"Yes Creepy, you may." Headings said tiered and the mutant left the room.

* * *

In the girls' bathroom, Creepy-Crawly was washing and brushing her hair, trying to get rid of the plastic gunk in her hair but even after she removed one of the sticky balls her hair still felt tacky. She couldn't found the third one but she could feel it. She reluctantly brought her antennas forward and she saw that the spitball was stuck on one of them. She sighed tiresomely.

She brought her antenna closer and bit of the sticky tack with her sharp teeth. She flinched a bit since she also severed some of the fur on her sensitive antenna. "That damn Zack. If an animal did that to me in the wild I would eat it for dinner." She growled to herself.

She then heard something from one of the toilet booths. First a splash and then a stomp and then the noise repeated itself. _'That's weird. Except for us suckers with detention there shouldn't be anyone else here.'_

"Hello, anyone there?" Creepy-Crawly called out. She opened to booth door. The toilet was shacking and the water was splashing.

Then, an enormous claw appeared from the water. The toilet suddenly broke into pieces and a giant fiddler crab, the size of a German Shepard crawled out of the drain. "Crab!" Creepy-Crawly shrieked and closed the door. She barricaded the door as the fiddler crab tried to get out. The door quacked as the giant crustacean tried to get out. The crab ultimately whammed it so hard that the knob flew-off the door.

Realizing she wouldn't be able to stop it for long, Creepy-Crawly ran out of the bathroom. The fiddler crab perused her with surprising speed. She jumped up on some lockers, getting out of range of the crustacean's claw. "Hey, stop it!" She spat and surprisingly the fiddler crab calmed down.

' _Right, Crustaceans are arthropods too. All I have to do is use my pheromones.'_

"Okay, just calm down." Creepy-Crawly said softly and produced some pheromones to calm it. The fiddler crab got sleepy and lowered its claws. Suddenly, the crab jumped after Creepy again and violently tried to grab her. "Hey, I thought we were having a conversation." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed. She jumped down from the lockers just as the crab made another jump for her. "Alright, if that is the only languish you speak…" She unfolded her mandibles and squirted a blast of acid out of her mouth. The acid hit the animal's shell but it seemed rather unfazed by it. Creepy shot another blast of acid. This time it hit the crab's eye and the creature stumbled backwards in pain. With her opponent temporarily blinded and disoriented Creepy-Crawly went into action. Even thou fiddler crabs have two claws only one is actually useful in a fight. She ducked and her mandibles clamped down around the wrist of its fighting claw. She then jerked her head backwards and managed to rip of the claw from the arm. The crab squirmed in pain before Creepy-Crawly put a stop to it by kicking its head in. The fiddler crab slumped lifelessly to the floor.

With the danger over, Creepy-Crawly felt like she was being watched. She turned to the nearest window and there, observing her from the schoolyard was her mother, Insectiva. When Insectiva saw her daughter staring back at her she flinched before turned on her heels and ran out of sight.

Creepy-Crawly scowled.

* * *

The team gathered in the gaglab to discuss what just happened. "I told you it was my mother. She is doing this to get to me." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed infuriated.

Iris and Zoey looked at Ray, the group's detective. "I do admit, the evidence are quite incriminating." He admitted.

"Good, so can we take her down now so I don't have to look over my shoulder every time I leave the house?" Creepy-Crawly asked, sounding desperate.

Ray clutched his chin in contemplation. "Well, I do have a plan but it will require you to be bait."

"No problem, I can be bait." Creepy-Crawly said.

"Also, it has to be done by Ringworm Dam." Ray stated.

"The dam? Why?" Zoey asked puzzled.

"Just…just trust me on this." Ray reassured.

Iris looked between her teammates, seemingly confused. "Shouldn't we tell my dad about this?"

"Hmm…he has his hands full. Besides, things will run along more smoothly if we don't tell him." Ray explained.

Iris was a bit hesitant to this. She had never disobeyed her father before but she was not just an android, she was also a rebellious teenager and besides, she trusted Ray. "Alright. I'll only tell my dad in case things gets out of hand."

* * *

Creepy-Crawly walked nonchalantly by Ringworm City Dam. The giant dam was north by her and an open bushland spread out to the southwest of her. "Oh, here I am. Just doing my own business. Completely unarmed." Creepy-Crawly proclaimed out laud so that she would be heard.

Ray laid on top of a nearby hill, observing his teammate thru his visors. "Worst. Actress. Ever." He sighed before contacting the others with his grossometer. "Are you guys in position?"

"Yes." Zoey replied thru the grossometer.

"Guys? Are-aren't we girls? Isn't guys a synonym for boys?" Iris asked puzzled.

"I will teach you about modern reinventing of languish when this is over, Iris." Ray replied.

Meanwhile, Creepy-Crawly continued playing bait. "I am alone. This is certainly not an ambush, I am just taking a stroll under this dam."

"Creepy-Crawly." Her mother's voice echoed thru the valley. She turned to see Insectiva coming out of the woodwork. She smiled warmly at her. "Hey honeybee."

Creepy-Crawly's reaction wasn't as warm. "Hey mom. Sorry, I haven't called but as you know we never had a phone or really anyway to communicate with the outside world so what ya gonna do?" She sarcastically stated.

"Please, honey. Come back with me." Insectiva pleaded.

"Sorry mom but I have had enough of being trained for battle and experimented on. Also, if you haven't noticed, I am a Grossologist now." She pointed at the G on her black slimesuit.

Insectiva gasped. "Creepy-Crawly Chitin Puglowski, you take off that suit immediately and put on something appropriate. It's time we go home."

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms. "Where is dad?"

"Here I am." Sloppy Joe came out of the woods. "Please sweetheart, come back with us. You mother and I miss you so much."

"Sorry but the feeling isn't mutual." Creepy-Crawly spat. "Now, Ray!"

On her command, Ray jumped out of hiding. He used the webshooter on his Gross-Gauntlet to tie up Insectiva's legs and arms. Immobilized, she fell to the ground. "Hoh, I just hog-tied myself a supervillain." Ray joked with a hokey texas-accent.

Seeing his spouse in peril, Sloppy Joe roared and hammered his chest like an angry mountain gorilla. He charged towards Ray but Iris dived from the sky and shot him right in the face with her goopshooter. Sloppy Joe licked the green goop of his face and swallowed it. He roared and chased after the flying android, like a really fat cat jumping after a crow. Iris hovered just out of reach for the large man, manipulating him just right. "Zoey, he is in position."

Zoey now rushed into action. She touched the earth under Sloppy Joe wither her hand before dashing to safety. That was all it took. The dirt under Sloppy Joe got soft and soon gave way to his massive weight. He was now, firmly stuck in a hole.

He roared in frustration but then sigh in surrender. "I am too old for this."

"Wow, we just took down two of our parents' worst enemies. High five coz." Ray said and he high-fived Zoey.

Creepy-Crawly towered over her tied-up mother, resting her fists against her hips. "Was it really worth it mom, was it worth trying to kidnap me with giant crustaceans.

"Crustaceans?" Insectiva sounded genuinely surprised. Then the entomologist realized what was going on. "Creepy, Sweetheart. You have it all wrong. I never tried to kidnap you."

"Yeah right," Ray scoffed, "you mean there is another mad entomologist out there that's interested in capturing her?" He gestured to Creepy-Crawly.

"Don't call me that!" A female voice echoed thru the valley. Everyone looked up at the dam wall and there she stood. She was a tall woman in her twenties. She had long fiery red hair that had been braided into a pair of claw-like pigtails. She wore a copper red swimsuit with net stocking and a pair of red gloves. She also had both knee & shoulder pads. This didn't hide her muscular belly nor her clawed fingers thou. Her skin was white as milk. She smirked, revealing her sharp teeth. "I am not a mad entomologist. I never got my PHD."

"Who is that?" Creepy-Crawly asked as she stared up at this strange woman.

"That is Crustacea." Insective answered.

The strange woman named Crustacea jumped down the dam, she dug her finger-claws into the wall and slide down the concreate wall. She then jumped down onto the ground.

"She is your cousin." Insectiva stated.

"MY COUSIN?" Creepy-Crawly was shocked.

"I should thank you for taking care of these two. They have been hunting me for weeks." Crustacea said. Her eyes were as red as that of a plankton.

"They have?" Creepy-Crawly asked surprised.

"Yes because we knew that if she learned you were here, she would want to kill you. Like her mom before her" Insectiva explained.

Crustacea huffed. "My mom thought disgusting arachnids was the key to conquering the world. It was almost as pathetic as you and your tiny bugs but I know the truth. Crustaceans are the superior arthropods and the true powerhouse of this world." She held up a small device that looked like a tiny mike. Her thumb pressed down on a button and the device gave of a high-pitched sound. About a dozen of giant crabs emerged out of the water reservoir and ran down the valley. They soon surrounded the Grossologists.

Ray looked around the dire situation. "So this was your plan all along. To lure out Creepy-Crawly so you could kill her?"

Crustacea laughed. "I didn't even know she was in the city until I saw her in the sewers. My real goal was to clog up the sewers and then flood the lowlands by breaking the dam. Behind that wall is an army of spiny lobsters ready to demolish it. Allowing my crustaceans to conquer the city."

"Ha, just as I thought." Ray exclaimed.

Zoey narrowed her eyes. "That's nice Ray, you get to the experience the joy of being right as the monsters are eviscerating us." She said sarcastically. Two crabs attacked them and Zoey fired a pair of rot blasts at them. This temporarily weakened them.

Ray thought of a solution. He looked down at Insectiva. The entomologist stared back. "Creepy, free your mom." He ordered.

"What? Why?" Creepy-Crawly asked in a demur manner.

"Because we'll need every fighter we can find." Ray replied.

She disliked it but Creepy-Crawly understood Ray's thinking. With her claws she cut of her mother's bondages. Insective stood up and gave her daughter a smile before going into action. She kicked one of the crab's to the side before jumping up onto the back of another. She pressed her claw-like fingers under the creature's carapace, driving it mad with pain. The crab stumbled right into a tree and lost consciousness.

The Grossologists went into battle with the crabs as well. Zoey used her rot powers to hurt them (she wasn't too much into killing them) and Ray used his goop-gauntlet to paste them to the ground but the crustaceans where strong enough to break free.

Creepy-Crawly looked around for an available target when she was sucker-punched in the face by Crustacea. The goth stumbled backwards in a spiraling motion until she managed to regain her balance. She brushed her new bruise as she glared at her opponent. "This is the first time we meet in person, cousin. Do you really want to fight me?"

"No." Crustacea smirked devilishly. "I want to slaughter you." She ran up to her younger cousin and took a swing at her head but Creepy-Crawly ducked in the last second and kicked Crustacea in the stomach, forcing her to step back. Crustacea growled, Creepy was apparently a better fighter than she thought. Next, Creepy-Crawly took a swipe at Crustacea but the redhead grabbed her wrist and punched her as hard as possible in the face. Creepy-Crawly stepped back to rethink her next move.

Crustacea fought like a boxer, sizing her opponent up before pounding them into submission. Creepy-Crawly thou, fought like a wild animal. She would bite of her own foot if needed.

Crustacea charged towards Creepy-Crawly again but the younger girl flew up into the air using her insect wings. Crustacea did not know Creepy-Crawly could fly and Creepy took advantage of her enemy's confused state. She darts towards her and the momentum of her speed allows Creepy-Crawly to knock down and pin the taller female to the ground. Crustacea punched her in the face but Creepy was not about to move.

"You know, I am starting to like these family reunions." Creepy-Crawly cooed but her gloating would be short-lived. A crab came up from behind her and clamped its claws around her and tore her off Crustacea.

"Hey, let me go!" Creepy-Crawly struggled to get free but the crab's claws would not budge. They kept her in check.

Crustacea rose with a smirk. She bowled a fist. "You know, my mom tried to kill you for years. It will give me pleasure to succeed where the old crow failed."

Sloppy Joe, still stuck in the ground saw it all and was overcome with fatherly concern. "My angel!" He racked up the earth that surrounded him, freeing himself. He gave off a mighty roar.

Crustacea readied another fist to punch her foe. Creepy Crawly would not give her the satisfaction of flinching. Just as Crustacea would punch, Sloppy Joe came up from behind. He lifted her up in his large hands and threw the shrieking red-head as far as he could. He then grabbed the crab's arms and used all his powers to not only pull them apart but he actually ripped them off the animal. The crab waddled backwards before collapsing.

Now, free from her trap, Creepy-Crawly smiled lovingly to her father. She hugged his big belly. "Thanks daddy."

Sloppy Joe softly stroked her hair. "Any time sweetheart."

Agitated, Crustacea got onto her feet. "Do you really think your family and teammates gives you strength? I have an army." She clicked once again on the tiny mic. Soon, even more crabs invaded the valley.

"Well, that's just great." Ray sighed sarcastically.

"Ray." Iris landed next him. "My sensors are picking up soundwaves from Crustacea's device. They are on the crabs' hearing frequency."

Ray snapped his fingers. "Of course. She is controlling them with sounds." He pulled out his grossometer and called Creepy-Crawly. "You heard that CC? Destroy her mic and she loses power."

"Alright." Creepy-Crawly replied before hanging up. She faced Crustacea along with her father. "Okay dad, seem like it's up to us." Suddenly, a pair of crabs came up from behind and wrestled Sloppy Joe to the ground. The large green man rolled onto his back and started combating them. "Dad!" Creepy-Crawly shouted worryingly just as Crustacea came up from behind but Creepy saw her in the last second and duck away from her fist. Creepy then jumped over her cousin and landed on the other side of her but before she could take a swipe at her, Crustacea turned around and jammed her elbow in Creepy-Crawly's face. The younger girl fell to ground, her face was red and swollen. Strangely, she sat up with a smirk.

"Too slow." Creepy-Crawly said.

"I think your face says differently." Crustacea retorted.

Creepy-Crawly held-up Crustacea's mic. "Missing something?"

Crustacea flinched in surprised. She searched her clothes for her device but could of course not found it. She looked at her cousin with a shocked expression. Creepy-Crawly's smirk sharpened and she snapped the mic in two.

"NO!" Crustacea shouted.

All the crabs stopped their assault on the grossologists like they had just came of a trance. Ray called Creepy. "Um, Creepy? Maybe you could tell them to go back into the water." He suggested, fearing they might start running rampant on their own.

"Sure." Creepy-Crawly leaked out some pheromones and gestured to the dam. The crabs started running up the hill and returned into the water reservoir. Meanwhile, the lobsters at the bottom of the resevoir that was supposed to demolish the dam dispersed.

"No-no, wait!" Crustacea exclaimed, trying to stop her deserting army. She jumped after one and cling to the crab's leg. "Please stay and fight. I'll give you anything." The crab didn't mind her and just continued. Crustacea lost her grip of the long leg and fell face first into mud. She then stood up and stared at her cousin. Anger boiled inside of her. "You! I lost my army because of you!"

Enraged, Crustacea charged towards Creepy-Crawly but Insectiva jumped into action, kicking Crustacea in the side. Crustacea crashed against a tree and Iris shoot goop at her which glued the aggressive woman to the trunk. Crustacea struggled to free herself but it was of no use. She sighed and hung her head in defeat.

Creepy-Crawly carefully approached her mother, humbly looking at the ground. "All this time, I thought you only wanted to control me but you actually tried to protect me."

"Yes and there are those that are far worse than Crustacea out there. Now, come home with me." Insectiva said and reached out a hand to her daughter.

Creepy-Crawly looked to the side. "Sorry, mom but I will stay here. I am a Grossologist now and these people are my friends." She gestured to the other Grossologists that lined up behind her.

"They are humans, honey." Insectiva argued. "Don't you remember what I told you about humans?"

Creepy-Crawly smiled and rolled her eyes. "Humans…have problems but I like whatever qualities they do have. I have meet people at school that actually accepts me despite my weirdness."

Sloppy Joe walked up to her. "Will you introduce us to your friends?" He asked jolly.

Creepy-Crawly shrugged. "Sure. The cute one is Zoey, the weird one is Iris and the Harry Potter-rip off is Ray."

"Hey." Ray protested.

"I live with Zoey and her parents until I can afford something of my own." Creepy-Crawly stated.

"Why?" Her mother asked.

"Cause Ray has no cable TV and I don't want to sleep in the gaglab with Iris." Creepy replied.

Insectiva smirked. _'Clever girl. She stays out of the immediate reach of the bureau in case they want to incarcerate her.'_ "Okay honey, I will allow you to stay with your friends but remember that we will always watch over you." A horsefly landed on her shoulder. She gestured to it before giving her daughter a wink. With the sound of police sirens approaching, Sloppy Joe and Insectiva ran out of sight.

Ray walked up his defeated enemy, Crustacea. "Hey, just one quick question before we turn you in. Um, why crabs and lobsters? Could you not have used any land based crustaceans like land crabs or pill bugs, then you wouldn't even have to bother with flooding the city?"

If Crustacea's arms hadn't been pasted to the tree she would have slapped herself in the face. "Why didn't I think of that?"

* * *

"Let me summarize myself briefly. I am very disappointed in you." LabRat stated firmly. He rolled across the gaglab with the four junior grossologists standing in line to the right of him. "You confronted three supervillains without telling me, ignoring my supervision, letting two of them escape and because of you the Ringworm Dam is infested with mutated Crustaceans. I don't even want to think of what that means for the domestic wildlife."

"It was my fault sir." Ray said. "I convinced them not to tell you."

LabRat looked at the others. "Is this true?"

"No, not really. We all agreed not to tell you." Iris admitted.

"In our defense, we did capture my cousin." Creepy-Crawly pointed out.

"Yes, I guess praise is due where praise is due. Still, I don't think you four should be working out there without supervision." LabRat said and rolled over to a door. "When I worked with Abby & Ty we had an adult that would meet up with us on our missions."

"So you're sending us with a babysitter?" Creepy-Crawly sighed.

"See him more as a middleman between you and the civic police, as well as extra reinforcement." LabRat opened the door with a simple push on a button. "Grossologists, meet the new Detective."

Gerome walked into the room and gave his Camp Kybo salute. "*Whoo whoo wiing* Hey kids."

* * *

Later that night…

"Okay, bye." Chester called out to his colleague as he walked out of the university where he worked. The university laid pretty close where he and Abby lived so he usually walked or took the bus to work. It was a lovely night so he decided to stroll home. His cellphone rang so he picked it up. He smiled when he saw it was Abby. "Hey Abigail."

"Hey Chester. I just called to tell you that I will be home late tonight. Some-some work came up."

Chester picked up on the hesitation in her voice. "It's about Ty, isn't it?" He asked concerned.

"Yes." Abby admitted. "I-I have some ideas to where he might be but I don't know."

"Is there anything I can do?" Chester asked.

"No babe, there's not. Just-just don't tell Naomi or Raymond about this." Abby answered.

Chester sighed. "Abby, you know that I don't like lying and Naomi & Raymond is Ty's family too. Don't you think they deserve to know?"

Abby was silent for a moment. When she talked again her voice was even sadder. "Chester, if they learn about this and I'll fail to bring him back, they might remember him as the monster he is now, instead of the man he was." She croaked with her throat thick from sadness.

Luckily, Chester knew how to make her feel better. "Don't say that Abbigail. There is no doubt in my mind that you will be able to bring him home. If anyone can do it, it's you."

"Thank you Chester. I love you." Abby said, she sounded much happier.

Chester smiled. "I love you too. I'll give your regards to Zoey."

"Thanks. Bye." Abby hang up and Chester placed the phone in his pocket.

"Awe, isn't that sweet." Chester turned around when he heard that voice. It was Insectiva. She wore a coat and her long hair was in a bun but Chester recognized her. "Kid Rot still carries a torch for his little girl." She mocked.

Chester scowled. "I am not Kid Rot anymore Insectiva and you better stay away from me." He turned his back on her and started walking away. Insectiva smirked and walked after him. After walking about a block Chester realized she wouldn't go away. He stopped and sighed. "You know just as well as I do that announcing your presence goes against the idea of stalking so what do you want?"

Insectiva tilted her head a bit. "A drink."

* * *

A few minutes later, Chester was sitting in front of Insectiva at a bar. They both had a glass of red wine. Insectiva seemed to be in good spirit but Chester hated this. Hopefully she would leave him alone if he simple let her have her way. There was no way he would lead this sadist right to his family and he did not want to attract her rage by calling the cops so confronting her like this was his best option. Still, he was pretty certain she wouldn't attack him. The bar had too many witnesses.

Insectiva took a sip of her wine, leaving some red on her lips. "Good wine. You certainly know how to make a girl feel special."

"Just tell me what you want so we can get this over with." Chester said emotionless.

"Can't two supervillains just sit down and have a drink together?" She asked coyly.

"I was never a supervillain. I never had a choice when I became Kid Rot." Chester stated.

Insectiva narrowed her brows. "I bet that is what you like to tell yourself."

"What do you want?" Chester pressed.

"Just a warning from one concerned parent to another. I know my daughter is living with you and your little grossologist-wife."

"Yeah, I know Creepy-Crawly is yours and Sloppy Joe's daughter and I have to say my heart goes out to that little girl. From what she told me you raised her like a trainer would raise a fighting dog."

"I did what I had to do to protect her and that is why I am here." Insectiva responded aggressively before going back to her cold manner. "I don't trust the Grossologists and if they ever do anything to hurt her I will break into your home, cut your daughter's throat in front of your wife and then kill her too." Insectiva threaten with disturbing calm.

" _Don't threaten my family."_ Chester whispered darkly. A vein in his forehead turned obsidian and his hands burned dark marks into the table, rot marks.

Insectiva raised an eyebrow. "Well, well. Seem like someone is keeping a secret of his own. How fascinating."

Realizing what he was doing, Chester took a deep breath and calmed down. His vein faded and the marks stopped spreading. He sighed in relief.

"So, you are not entirely cured of your…affliction." Insectiva smirked as the scowl on Chester grew. "I have seen your daughter. She also has the power of decay. The poor thing. She must feel so isolated and alone, knowing she can hurt anyone any second just by touching them. How does it feel to know you are the one responsible four your daughter's misery."

"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing." Chester said.

Suddenly, Insectiva erupted in anger. She stood up and smashed her wineglass against the table. She stared at him with large violent eyes and flustering nostrils. Chester remained motionless.

The entire bar went silent. Everyone stared at Insectiva with the broken glass. No one seemed to move.

"Whoa, I'm sorry, I must have had a bit too much to drink." Insectiva explained nonchalantly, placing her hand on her forehead in a melodramatic fashion. "I think I need to go home and rest." She turned to Chester. "It was a lovely date honey, see you soon." She kissed his cheek before calmly exiting the building.

Not until she had disappeared thru the door did Chester allow himself to breath. He sighed mournfully and slumped his head against the table.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **If you are confused over exactly how horrible Creepy-Crawly's childhood was, don't worry, it's supposed to be a bit confusing. Like most people when we talk about someone we dislike, Creepy-Crawly exaggerates her mother's transgressions against her and Insectiva did keep a lot of secrets from her so not even Creepy is sure about everything that happened. So, now you know that Creepy-Crawly is living with Zoey, Abby & Chester. I wanted to get out this information earlier but I just couldn't fit it in without it sounding like forced exposition. **

**Crustacea is my first OC Grossology villain. She is Arachnidia's daughter and therefor Creepy-Crawly's cousin. Still no words on who the dad is. My biggest inspirations for Crustacea was Alakshmi (Kaijudo) and Kylo Ren (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Like these villains, Crustacea is good at what she does but not as good as she thinks is.**

 **Also, I have decided to give a little bit more descriptions of the teachers here. I felt I gave a bit too little info on them before. Not that they are all that important but still…**

 **So now Gerome is the new Detective, just like LabRat is the new Director.**

 **I have a lot of exciting things planned for the next episode. Including more of Far-Ty, the return of a fan-favorite villain and (juiciest of all) I will reveal why LabRat is crippled.**


	8. Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 1)

**Episode 3: Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 1)**

Night time, Splatticus State Asylum.

Roger Pink-Eye was reading a newspaper while relaxing on his bed in his cell, the place he had been living in for the last twelve years. Roger had changed a lot since his high school years. His hair was shorter and combed back. His freckles had faded away and he had grown a goatee. He had also filled out a lot with both biceps and abs even thou he was still relatively skinny. The one thing that hadn't changed thou was his swollen, red eye.

He read the news article with increased interest. He smirked a bit to himself. "So, the bureau has some new junior Grossologist and one of them just happen to be a girl with copper-red hair and the other one is a geek with jet black hair. Sometimes it feels lonely being the only one smart enough to figure these things out."

Three guards stopped by his cell. "Roger, you have a visit." One of them proclaimed.

Roger laid down the newspaper and jolted off the bed. "Swell, I haven't had a visit in years."

"You have to turn in your dinner plate first." One of the guards ordered.

Roger glanced at the brick with an empty plate on the table next his bed. "Sure."

"Don't forget your eyedropper-bottle, punk." Another one of the guards reminded him.

"Of course not." The red head politely replied. He slided the brick thru a narrow gap in the glass. One of the guards took the brick without much thought and walked away. One of the other guards held up a keycard in front of a scanner. It peeped and the cell-door opened.

Roger Pink-Eye stepped out of his cell and one of the guards put handcuffs on him. One of the guards walked away while the other two lead him down the corridor. They didn't even bother searching him but in actuality they made their first mistake earlier than that.

If they had bothered to check the eye-drop bottle, they would have seen that Roger had removed the dropper from the cap. He had been sharpening it into a makeshift key and hide it in his sleeve. He couldn't use it right now thou since one of the guards was staring at him. It wasn't because he had noticed anything suspicious thou, he was staring for the same reason people had always stared at him.

"Does my eye disturb you, sir?" Roger asked.

Upon being caught staring, the guard turned his sight away. "Eh, no."

Roger brought out the sharpened dropper and started picking his handcuff. "It's okay, it is only pink-eye. It usually heals after a week or so. Of course I have had mine for years."

The new guard blinked confused. "Why?"

"Derek, don't talk to him." The other guard said somewhat irritated.

"I like to smear dirt into it." Roger answered.

"Why would you do that?" The guard asked. He was clearly new here. There was convicts here with far more disturbing habits.

"I think it's important to remember who you are." Roger Pink-Eye replied. With a quiet *click* his handcuffs unlocked. "Especially when you want to be someone else."

Roger jammed his elbow into the guard's face with tremendous speed. He then managed to get a hold of the other guard's shirt and threw him head first into his partner's stomach. The two crashed against the wall and fell to the floor in a heap. Roger wasted no time running away. As he zoomed thru the corridor he could hear a voice booming thru the speakers.

"Roger Pink-Eye has escaped! Repeat, Roger Pink-Eye has escaped! All units convene on hallway C2."

Roger jumped up on an unguarded janitor cart. After a few kicks to the floor to pick up speed, the janitor cart rolled thru the corridor as fastas it could. "Out of the way jaywalkers, official cleaning business coming thru." The ginger jubilated. A guard tried to stop him but Roger used the cart to ram him into a nearby wall.

Two more guards tried to stop him and they had tranquilizers. They shot at him but Roger hide being the cart. "Man, this is getting hairy." He grabbed a bottle of floor cleaner and aimed it at the guards. "This will wash away the stains." He joked before squeezing the bottle. A beam of cleaning fluid ejected from the bottle, hitting both guards in the face.

"Aaahhh! My eyes, it burns!" One of them screamed.

Roger stopped the cart by a restroom. He opened up the door and brought the cart in. Once inside, he barricaded the door with the cart. He then opened the third booth from the left. He just hoped the inmates that recommended this toilet for him wasn't just messing with him. He wasn't overly popular among the other inmates but he trusted them on the grounds of their common hatred for their wards. He rubbed the toilet seat a bit and to his delight, it shacked. The screws were so loose that they could be unscrewed by hand. He did just that before kicking the toilet bowl to the side. Underneath the toilet was a pipe, leading directly to the sewers.

Roger Pink-Eye smirked. "I'm gonna pull a _Shawshank Redemption_ out of here."

* * *

 **Cue The Intro.**

* * *

The following morning, Raymond walked into the kitchen. He came upon his mother, frying egg over a pan. Naomi turned to her son with a plastered on smile."Morning honey. There are some eggs if you want some."

"No thanks." He replied. Despite her best effort, Ray could tell her smile was fake.

"There's bread in the toaster." Naomi said and went back to stirring the pan.

"Okay." Ray rounded the kitchen table, all while studying her features. Ray could tell she was sad over something and he could guess what it was. He grabbed a box of orange juice from the fridge and sat down at the table. "So, did your date last night go well?" Ray carefully asked.

Naomi froze up for a few seconds. She then sighed and flipped one of the fried eggs. "It went well."

"So you will be meeting him again?" Ray asked.

Naomi was hesitant to answer. "We decided to take a break."

Ray raised an eyebrow. _'She has only had one date with this guy so how can she take a break.'_ Ray decided not to press the issue. He knew dating wasn't easy for his mother and he had been thankful she at least tried but now he wished she would get back with his dad. Naomi didn't know yet that Ty was still alive but Ray knew that if he could make Far-Ty remember his true identity, Naomi would take him back.

The strange thing was that it was only in recent years that Ray had been able to recognize how depressed his mom was.

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK.**_

It was during the days right after Ty's disappearance. Ty had already been declared dead even thou no body had been found. No funeral had been held yet.

Ray's feelings often fluctuated between anger, sadness but most of all numbness. Zoey had tried to cheer him up but it didn't help. Everything felt so hollow, worthless and devoid of meaning. Just the idea that he would never get to spend time with his dad again was overwhelming.

Worst of all was that he seemed to be the only one that cared. Okay that wasn't actually true, he had seen his aunt Abby stressing out and screaming before crying unstoppable but his mother seemed completely unaffected by it. Sure, she was a bit more distant than usual but Ray figured it was just because she was busy with the new house. It made Ray feel lonely.

Then, two weeks later, his uncle Chester offered to take Ray & Zoey to the local aquarium. Ray had always liked the aquarium so he agreed. Once he was there, things just got so much worse. The menacing sharks in the tank was no longer scary and the lizards that used to look like mini-dinosaurs now just seemed like lazy leather bags, soaking up heat from a fake sun in the ceiling. Everything that he once marveled at was just as meaningless as everything else. Was everything going to be like this from now on? Did his joy die with his dad? The thought made him cry, right in front of the shark tank.

"Raymond, Raymond? What's wrong?" Chester asked concerned, placing a comforting hand on Ray's shoulder. Ray didn't respond thou. "Okay, okay, let's go." Chester said and lead Ray out of the aquarium, with Zoey following after with a concerned look on her face.

Outside of the aquarium was a small outdoor restaurant. It mostly sold hot dogs and hamburgers. They sat down at one of the tables. "Ray, what is wrong?" Zoey asked.

Once again, Ray was unresponsive.

Chester turned to his daughter. "Zoey," he pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred dollar bill, "why don't you go and buy some ice cream for the three of us?"

Zoey looked at her cousin that was sobbing and figured she probably couldn't help him. "Okay." She took the money and ran to stay in line.

Chester turned his attention to his sad nephew.

"Ray, I know firsthand how hard it is too loose a parent but is there anything you want to talk about?" Chester asked, placing a hand on his arm.

Ray's sharp eyes glanced at his uncle. Making calculations as always.

"I promise I won't tell your mother." Chester nodded.

"Well," Ray turned a bit in place, "I miss my dad a lot."

"We all do. Your father was a near friend of mine and he was the closest friend your aunt ever had."

"My mom doesn't." Ray argued.

Chester blinked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"All she cares about is finding a new house. She doesn't seem to care at all that dad is gone." Ray sounded hurt.

"Ray, I can assure you that your mother misses him more than anyone. She loved him more than she loved anyone, except for you of course." Chester stated.

"Well, she doesn't seem to shed any tears over it." Ray shrugged.

"She wants you to be happy Ray. Would seeing her cry make you happy?"

Ray immediately shook his head at that question.

Chester smiled a bit. "You are a good kid Ray and you're all your mom has left. She just want you to happy despite everything that happened."

Ray lowered his head, looking wistful.

"After all, what don't we do for our family?" Chester added.

Zoey returned with three cups of classic vanilla ice cream with chocolate-sauce. "Here you go." She said as she handed them their cups.

Ray stared at his ice cream as the chocolate-sauce ran down the ice-cream ball. For the first time in weeks, he smiled a little.

* * *

Now a days Ray could easily detect when his mom was sad. The clues had always been right in front of him. Her forced smiles, her slopping shoulders, how distant she seemed until one talked to her but she kept her feelings hidden as not to upset him.

' _Well, uncle Chester was wrong about one thing. I am not all she has. Dad is still out there somewhere.'_

Ray finished his breakfast and headed to the lobby. "I'll leave now."

"Wait." Naomi exclaimed and came after him. "Won't I get a hug?" She asked coyly.

Ray rolled his eyes. "Sure but make it snappy."

Naomi wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him lovingly. Ray hugged her back a bit before they departed. "Bye sweetie." Naomi winked.

"See you later mom." Ray said just before he left the house and shut the door behind him. He had barely left the yard before his grossometer started buzzing. He picked it up and opened it. "What's the word LabRat?"

"You getting your butt down the gaglab now, that is the word." LabRat ordered sternly. A furious scowl made up his face.

Ray blinked startled. "What is the rush, LabRat?"

"If there is a rush I can't very well waste time explaining why there is a rush, can I? Get to the lab as fast as you can." LabRat sounded really stressed and angry.

"Alright, I'll get there. I also need to talk to you abo-

LabRat hang-up before Ray could finish. Ray flinched at this. _'Whatever got him so riled up it must be serious.'_

* * *

Now in his orange slimesuit, Ray walked into the gaglab. He saw that the others had already arrived. "Morning teammates." He greeted.

"Morning." Zoey greeted while Creepy-Crawly acknowledged him with a silent nod. Iris thou sat in the couch corner with her arms wrapped around her legs. "Is something wrong, Iris?" Ray asked concerned.

Iris looked up at him. She smiled a bit but still managed to look scared. "Dad has been acting strange."

"Yeah, he seemed really stressed out on the grossometer." Ray said while scratching his neck.

They could see LabRat heading for the room along with Clarence. They were talking about something but the glass-door prevented them from hearing what was being said. Iris turned up the volume on her receptors.

"…I just think it would be wise if you let some of the senior Grossologists deal with this." Clarence stated.

"They are not the grossologists he has a beef with. I prefer to handle it with my own team." LabRat argued sternly.

"I understand." Clarence nodded and walked away.

LabRat rolled into the gaglab and Iris turned down her audio receptors and sat up straighter in the couch as to not arise suspicion. The crippled scientist sighed and turned on the large screen in front of the couch.

"Last night, a man by the name of Roger Clogton escaped from Splatticus Asylum but he is better known as Roger Pink-Eye." LabRat turned on the screen and it showed a profile photo of Roger Pink-Eye as well as some smaller pictures of Roger when he was younger and basic information.

"Hey, I read about him in my dad's files." Ray exclaimed. "Apparently he tried to kill the old man and aunt Abby in high school with a mutated mold-monster before conspiring to become a Grossologist himself."

"And he is the reason why I am in a wheelchair." LabRat exclaimed, causing everyone to stare wide eyed at him.

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK.**_

The Director, Ty, Abby, LabRat & Clarence had gathered in the bureau's cafeteria to celebrate The Director's retirement. On the table was a huge cake with the director's portrait made in frosting. Now, there was going to be a huge ball in the Directors honor in where half the town was invited but the Grossologists wanted a private moment to celebrate their beloved boss.

The Director had gotten a Botox injection to smooth out his skin but it had not been able to hide his age very well thou. The Director walked with crocked posture and his hair had turned gray. Abby, Ty & LabRat were all over twenty now and become senior Grossologists and The Director's nephew Clarence was now a teen and a junior Grossologist.

They were laughing and talking about old times. "Do you guys remember when Insectiva built those giant termite nests?" Abby asked.

"Yes, but as all of her schemes she was easily thwarted once we put our heads to work." LabRat replied. "Of course The Director's leadership was also a key element."

The Director chuckled. "Yeah, yeah, so true."

"So what are you are planning to do after you retire?" Ty asked.

"Mom has always wanted to move to Hawaii and once my retirement bonus ship in I plan to move there and take my mom with me. We will have a hut each and I can spend my days golfing, tanning and swimming and best of all there won't be a slime trail for miles." The Director exclaimed, smiling enthusiastically.

"But what about all the snails?" LabRat asked puzzled.

"What did you say?" The Director asked.

Clarence elbowed LabRat in the side to make him shut up. "He just said that it sounds lovely." Clarence reassured.

"Yep, and no one deserves it more than you." Ty said.

"I agree," The Director said, "but what about you guys? I mean we all know what the future holds for LabRat," he motioned his glass at LabRat, "but what do the rest of you kids want to do ones I'm gone?"

"I am gonna work hard to become the best Grossologist I can be." Clarence stated.

"Well, Naomi and I have been talking about getting children. I am warming up to that idea." Ty admitted. He noticed that his sister smirked a bit.

Everyone now turned to Abby. "So what about you Abigail, what do you want out of the future?" The Director asked.

Abby looked a bit pensive for a moment but then smiled. "You know, everything seems pretty great right now. I'm perfectly happy with what I got."

"Well said Mrs. Archer." The Director exclaimed and raised his glass. "To the future."

"TO THE FUTURE!" Everyone jubilated in unison.

"Hey, Director!"

Everyone turned to see Roger Pink-Eye standing in the door opening, aiming a gun at them.

"To broken dreams."

 ***BAM!***

* * *

"After the gunfire I don't remember much since I fell into a coma." LabRat explained. "When I woke up I couldn't feel my legs anymore. Your parents explained that Pink-Eye's bullet had edged itself into my spine and that the Director hadn't survived the assault which made me the new Director. Pink-Eye had somehow managed to escape the bureau's HQ so my first order was to arrest him. Unfortunately he had gone off the grid. An entire year went by before we saw him again." LabRat changed image on screen. The new image was a mugshot of Roger but now he had a long beard and dirty, long hair that went down his shoulders. His lips were crack dry and his skin was covered in bruises. "He turned himself in without a fight but never admitted to his crimes even thou we have video tapes and he doesn't have a single alibi."

The young grossologists looked between themselves before looking at LabRat. Zoey was the first to speak. "You told me you lost your legs in a traffic accident but I kind of suspected it was a cover-up when I learned you were the Director."

"Yeah, sorry about that. It was just easier to tell you." LabRat said.

Iris stood up from the couch. "I promise you dad, I will capture this man that hurt you."

"That's good because it seems like he is planning something big." LabRat took out a paper from his pocket. "He left this note in his cell when he left." He stated and started reading. "Dear Grossologists, you know who you are (you know I do, lol). I have a few unfinished things to take care of. Before I turned my self in, I hid three homemade stink bombs and after so long they must really reek. I will detonate them one after one and there is nothing you can do about it. Yours truly, R. Pink-Eye."

"Wow, he must be confident if he actually announces his crimes before he commits them." Ray stated.

"Roger always was overconfident." LabRat stated.

Clarence suddenly ran into the room. "Sir, you need to take a look at the news." He panted.

LabRat flinched in surprised. He grabbed a remote control and put the large screen to TV mood.

A female news reporter was clinging to her mike. In the background was a building that was leaking smoke and people was being carried away on stretchers. "I am at Blassters Street where a terrible gas-leak has left over fifteen people unconscious. The stench is unbearable even at this distance." The reporter woman stated.

"Is that our guy?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"I'm sure of it. That was the apartment building Pink-Eye grew up in." LabRat stated with conviction.

"This is the perfect opportunity to capture him." Iris exclaimed. Her eye color turned scarlet and her pigtails changed into a more clean-cut hairstyle. It was her fighting mode.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm honey but I fear it's too late for that." LabRat said regretfully. "Pink-Eye likes to strike hard and fast before making a quick getaway."

"Sounds like a coward." Creepy-Crawly shrugged.

LabRat pondered for a bit. "Well, he is a risk taker. Sometimes I doubt even he knows how dangerous the things he does is." He turned off the screen. "It might be too late to capture him but you can still search for clues. Go to Roger's apartment, report whatever you can find out and then go directly to school."

Iris gave her father a quick kiss on the cheek before exiting the room. Zoey & Creepy-Crawly followed her out but Ray stayed in the room.

LabRat raise an eyebrow. "Um, aren't you gonna go with you teammates?"

Ray walked up to his superior. "I will but first I want to know what you are doing to find my dad."

"Ray." LabRat sighed tiresomely and pinched his nose bridge. "I have already told you we are doing everything we can to locate him."

"That is a very vague answer. Exactly _what_ are you doing to find him?" Ray argued.

LabRat sighed once more. "After Ty graduated to Senior Grossologist he started setting up his own small labs all over the city in case he would need something. He didn't even tell me where they were in case one of them was compromised. The lab you & Zoey found in your old basement was one of those labs. Right now we are trying to locate his other labs. We found a few and while it looks like Far-Ty has been used them they have been cleaned out."

"Maybe I can find something the others couldn't." Ray exclaimed. "Give me a list of all the potential places where he might have secret labs."

"It's not your responsibility."

"Not my responsibility?" Ray gasped. "He is the very reason you brought me, Zoey & CC into this in the first place and he is my dad. How can he not be my responsibility?"

"He is dangerous." LabRat tried to argue.

"And going after this Pink-Eye figure isn't?"

Labrat sighed once again. "Fine, I'll upload a list along with a marked map to Iris's hardware so can she print it out for you but don't get your hopes up."

Satisfied, Ray smiled and nodded. "Thanks Uncle Paul." Then he rushed out of the gaglab to catch up with the rest of the team.

* * *

Iris & Creepy-Crawly stood outside Pink-Eye's apartment building, talking with the new Detective Gerome while Ray & Zoey investigated inside.

"We have men searching the entire area but we haven't found a trace of Roger Pink-Eye." Gerome explained.

"Did you check the sewers?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"The sewers?" Gerome raised an eyebrow. "No we didn't."

"I'll check the manholes." Iris quickly volunteered and flew off on her jet boosters.

Creepy-Crawly's eyes followed her partner as she left her. She released a breath thru her nostrils and relaxed her shoulders before turning her attention back to The Detective. "So, how do you feel about being the new Detective?"

"Well, I have always been a Detective but I never thought I would be _The Detective._ " Gerome replied. Of course, The Detective was just a codename like LabRat or The Director. The Detective was the intermediary between the bureau of Grossology and the Police.

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms over her chest. "How did Abby take it when she heard LabRat hired you?"

Gerome scratched his jaw before answering. "Irritated. She thinks LabRat uses me to spy on her."

"Why? I thought they were BFF's or something."

"It is this entire Far-Ty thing. Your boss probably don't like it when an ex-Grossologist intrudes on current Grossology business which I think Far-Ty classifies as. I also think Abby has started to distrust LabRat."

Creepy-Crawly raised an eyebrow. "Do you trust him?"

Gerome huffed. "Reasonable."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the building. Ray & Zoey worked themselves thru the noxious fumes. They both wore gasmasks and protective googles. Ray hide behind a wall and then ran over and covered behind the next wall, repeated the process and constantly aimed his Gross-Gauntlet at whatever was in front of him.

"Um, what are you doing?" Zoey asked puzzled as she modestly followed him.

"Being cautious. The enemy can be just around the corner." Ray replied, stretching out his arm with the gauntlet.

"I am pretty sure Pink-Eye isn't here." Zoey argued annoyed.

"How can you tell? We are the first ones in here, right? And the cops has only been searching for him outdoors, right. Maybe Pink-Eye never left."

Zoey stiffen in dread. "Damn you Ray and your insidious logic." She clicked on a small button on her goggles and the goggles shifted to fog-lamp mood. She saw some discarded clothes on the floor in front of an open closet. She bent down and rubbed the fabric between her thumb and hand. It was wet and slimy. "Seems like someone changed their attire."

"I found the stink bomb or what's left of it." Ray exclaimed. The stinkbomb was made out of an old vacuum cleaner whit a plastic bag instead of a hose. The bag had been blown up thou, leaving only shreds. "Let's take some samples for LabRat and head back to school."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **So this was the first chapter of this new episode of Grossology: Evolution. Sorry it has taken me so long to update this. I have not been feeling very good lately.**

 **Roger Pink-Eye is back and has grown quite a bit since the show and we finally get an answer to why LabRat is in a wheelchair but it's not the entire story.**

 **Also, Splatticus State Prison is now Splatticus Asylum because I felt it looked more like an asylum than a prison.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this and I also hope you review it.**


	9. Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 2)

**Episode 3: Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 2)**

Zoey were attending home economics. She was happy she got to team up with Hugo when they were given a cooking assignment but sadly they had to work at a table next to Rachel & Molina.

"Eww, Zoey smells like dried vomit." Rachel whined and squeezed her nose.

Hearing that, Zoey stiffen. She smelled her arm, she still smelled off Pink-Eye's stink bomb.

"Hey Molina, doesn't Zoey reek?" Rachel asked her friend.

The Latina looked up from bowl she was ladling. She looked puzzled at Zoey and then at her blond friend. "So? Little Archer always stinks."

"That is true but normally she is tolerably stinky, now she reeks like her fashion taste." Rachel said, a smirk crept over her face.

" _That doesn't even make sense."_ Hugo mumbled annoyed.

Zoey turned to the two girls. "You know I can hear you, right?"

Molina tilted her head and beamed the red head a malicious smirk. She also leaned her arm against the table. "What would the fun be if you didn't?"

"I don't find anything funny about it." Zoey stated, knowing full well how little that would do.

"It's more fun for us that for you." Rachel giggled.

"Well you two are the only ones." Hugo exclaimed as he threw a spoon in the kitchen sink and turned to face Molina & Rachel. He stared furiously at them but he was actually a bit scared, he knew how vulnerable he was.

"Awe look, Zoey's white knight want to defend her. How cute." Molina mocked. "Don't you wanna kiss him for it, Zoey?"

Zoey blushed and looked to the floor. Finding nothing to say to Molina, Hugo decided it was better to leave. "Come on Zoey, let's find another table." He said. Zoey & Hugo took their stuff and moved to another table.

Zoey started cutting an onion. "Sorry." She mumbled.

"Not your fault." Hugo responded.

"Do I really smell that bad?"

"What?" Hugo stiffen and looked wide eyed at Zoey. "No, no, of-of course not…" He smiled nervously. "Okay you smell pretty bad but I am used to cleaning the toilets at work and those smell much worse so you are all fine-I mean it's all fine with me."

Zoey had to keep back a giggle. _'He is adorable when he is flustered.'_

* * *

Meanwhile, Ray was in the cafeteria. He looked tiresomely at the list and the map that Iris had printed out for him.

"It's too many places." He lamented to himself and shook his head. "Even if dad is at one of these locations he will have moved on long before I get there. I need a system or a clue, something to follow to know where to start."

"Hey Ray." Candice greeted and sat down next to him. She sniffed the air. "Huh, something reeks yet NJ is nowhere to be found. That's a mystery to be solved." Candice exclaimed playfully and placed her lunchbox on the table. She opened it and picked up a pita bread filled with kebab, white sauce and unions.

"Yeah, must be a broken sewer line nearby." Ray sighed and stuffed his papers into his backpack.

"Is something wrong?" Candice asked concerned.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Ray replied.

"Well, if it helps I am not too happy either."

"Why would that help?" Ray asked confused. Candice shrugged with her mouth full of pita bread. "Okay, so what is bothering you?" Ray asked her.

"I volunteered for a paleontological expedition but I didn't make the cut."

"Bummer." Ray said. "Can't your dad do something about it?"

Candice took a slurp from her sports bottle. "Nah, I'm not the kind of girl that rans to daddy whenever something doesn't go her way but its spilled milk anyway. I have volunteered for another expedition later this summer. It's just that," she whipped off part of an onion ring that hanged out of her mouth, "I really wanted to go on this one. They were are going to use some new GPR that my dad's company developed for NDT. It uses EMR."

Ray smiled and rested his cheek against his knuckles. "IDK what YAT about."

Candice struggled not to giggle. "It's a ground penetrating radar silly. It emits high frequency radio waves thru the ground that then reflects back to the surface. It allows you to see thru the ground."

A gleaming lightbulb appeared over Ray's head. He cupped Candice's shoulders. "Candice you are a pearl."

He ran away, leaving Candice stiff and puzzled.

* * *

Iris sat on the floor in the school hallway, comfortable tucked into a corner as she read a book she borrowed from the library. Even thou she could easily just download books right into her brain she had found the experience of reading a book page by page very captivating.

Her com-link rang so she placed a finger against her hear which activated it. "Hello."

"Iris, its Ray." Her friend said over the com-link.

"Hey Ray. I just found this awesome book. Its old and it's called _Green Eggs and Ham_. It's about this bad guy that tried to kill his friend by repetitively offering him poisoned food but our hero sternly refuses. I can't wait to see how it ends."

"Great but I need you for something." Ray exclaimed rushed.

"What?" She asked interested.

"Do the bureau have any GPR equipment?"

"Ground Penetrating Radar? Yes, yes we do." Iris replied.

"Do you think you can get your hands on some? I think it will help me find my dad." Ray said but Iris had stopped listening.

Her eyes locked onto a janitor walking by as he pushed a janitor cart in front of him. He looked just like Pink-Eye. He passed her by without looking her way.

"Iris? Iris are you there?" Ray asked when he didn't get an answer.

"I call you later." Iris said and turned off her com-link. She stood up and silently followed the janitor.

The janitor was indeed Pink-Eye. He wore a cap and an eyepatch to obscure his more distinguishing features. He stopped by a door and pulled out a keychain. Once the door was open, he led the cart inside the empty room. He walked right up to a ventilation shaft and pulled off his cap and eyepatch. He then bent down and pulled out a vacuum cleaner from underneath the cart and like the one in his apartment, it was a vacuum cleaner that had been reengineered.

The ginger haired maniac giggled a bit as he placed the stinkbomb under the shaft. "This should make the school smell like old times."

"Stop what you're doing!"

Roger turned his head to see a dark skinned girl he couldn't recognize. "Go away little girl, I am working."

"No you are not working, you are not even a janitor. You're Roger Pink-Eye." Iris exclaimed.

Roger stiffen for a moment. He then pulled of his cap and eyepatch before turning to face her. "How do you know that?"

"Because several years ago you crippled my father." Iris sternly stated. Her eyes narrowed into furious blades.

Roger rolled his eyes up and pouted. "I don't think I know your dad."

"His name is Paul Squirfenherder." The android vented.

This startled Pink-Eye. "LabRat?" He said puzzled. He studied her features for a bit. "I had no idea LabRat had a daughter. I always assumed he was the kind of guy to order fish sticks over clamps but it seem he got lucky." Roger gestured with a large impish grin. Iris thou just continue glaring angrily at him. Roger shrugged. "Well, I would love to chat with you but I have a school to make uninhabitable."

He turned back to his machine. He was about to press the on-button when a dark hand grabbed his wrist. "I can't let you do that."

Roger glared up at her. "Don't mess with me Squirfenherder."

Iris didn't say anything. She just scowled at him. Fast as striking snake, Roger rose up and tried to punch her in the face but Iris blocked it with her hand of pure steel. "OUCH!" Roger clutched his soared fist. "That hurt." He tried to take a swing at her but Iris ducked before grapping his arm, lifting him over her shoulder and throwing him across the room. Roger's back collided with the wall and he fell to the floor.

Roger grunted in pain. "Did LabRat raise you on nothing but milk & steroids?"

Iris walked up to him. She looked down at the man with distain. She then turned off her hologram, revealing her terrifying, four-eyed android self. Roger's eyes expanded in horror and his lower lip quivered. Iris leaned down and her strong metallic hand grabbed his shirt. She adjusted her voice box to a dark booming tone. "Now, do you give up?"

Pink-Eye whimpered and slowly nodded.

* * *

Later that afternoon.

Roger Pink-Eye sat in an interrogation room at the police station. Across the small table in front of him stood Zoey & Creepy-Crawly in their slimesuits.

"You're going back to Splatticus Pink-Eye but until you tell us what we want to know." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed sternly. "In your note you mentioned a third bomb. Where is it?"

"What note?" Roger asked, smirking. Zoey pulled out the note from her belt. "Awe, that note. I was lying about that third one." Roger crossed his arms behind his head.

"Or you are lying now." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

"Perhaps…" Roger's eyes drawn to Zoey. He leaned forward to study her better. "You don't need to wear that yellow number for me to see that you are Abby's & Chester's kid. You have her hair color but his eyes. The best of both I would say. I never liked your mother. I found her annoying. Ty was much more fun." He then turned to Creepy-Crawly. "Are you his kid?"

Creepy-Crawly furrowed her brows.

"Nah, with a face like that your parents must have been something else. Insectiva & Sloppy Joe, right?"

She decided to ignore the question. "Where is the bomb Pink-Eye."

Roger decided to ignore her question as well. "Where are my eye drops? It's inhumane to keep a man away from his medication."

Zoey placed a bottle of eye drop on the table. Roger's handcuffs rattled against the table as he stretched out for it. "Thank you." He said as he clutched the bottle. "I do admit that there is a third bomb but it wouldn't matter if I told you. Cause even if I were to chare its location with you, you still wouldn't be able to find it."

"And why is that?" Zoey asked.

Roger leaned back his chair and held the dropper over his swollen eyeball. "I was only a Grossologist for a little while but I did have something over Ty & Abby." He let two drops fall into his eye.

"A personality as disgusting as the villains you fought?" Creepy-Crawly joked.

"No, I had a more experienced Grossologist as a mentor. And he taught me all there is to know," Roger leaned in with a smirk, "about the gaglab."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ray & Iris was at an apartment building with a GPR machine. It looked like a small one-wheeled lawnmower (green of course).

"The bureau's GPR is a bit old but it should work fine." Iris explained. "It sends a wave of electromagnetic energy thru the ground which then bounces back and the laptop paints a topographical map of whatever is beneath." The machine did just that and a green pixilated image appeared on a laptop atop the handle. "That's interesting." She said intrigued and pointed at a box-shaped area on screen. "There seem to be a room underneath the basement that is not in this building's blueprint."

"Sick. Pay dirt at first try." Ray said with a satisfied smile before heading for the entrance.

"Um, Ray?" Iris spoke nervously. "I-I kind of wanna be with my dad right now."

Ray turned back and looked sympathetically at his teammate. "I understand you are worried about him but you beat Roger Pink-Eye already. Your dad is safe, mine isn't." Iris still looked unsure. Ray placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come on buddy I need you."

She smiled a bit and finally nodded. "Alright."

Ray patted her shoulder. "Good, you can be my BFF." Ray said before running to the entrance.

"Wait, what does that mean? Basic Fuel Furnace?" Iris asked confused as she darted after him.

The two walked into the building but they quickly came upon problems when they discovered that the door to the cellar was locked.

"So much for trusting luck. We'll need a key to get in."

Man walked past them. "Excuse me sir." Iris said and the man turned to them. "We are Grossologists on official business. Would you mind lending us your keys to the basement?"

"Um, sure." The man said and handed her his keychain. Iris walked back to Ray and opened the door with her newly required keys. They started walking down the steps. "Wait!" The man exclaimed. "Is this-is this house in danger? Should I evacuate by family?"

"Sure, treat them to a few days at a fancy hotel." Ray responded nonchalantly before continuing walking down the stair.

Once they were down in the cellar, filled with storage cells, they walked straight up to a wall. "According to the map there should be a passage to the lair we're looking for." Iris explained. "But there doesn't seem to be a door and I certainly don't want to tear down an entire wall."

"I have already found one of my dad's old labs and if he uses the same methods to hide this one…" Ray pressed his hands against the wall. Small flakes of paint fell off as the wall cracked in and slide to the side. "Sick"

Behind the now opened wall was a ramp going down to a lab, similar to the one Ray & Zoey had found previously.

Startled, a familiar hunched over figure turned his large red lenses towards the Grossologists. It was a Far-Ty along with six of Fartor's old robots.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **So, is the Zoey/Hugo romance adorable or annoying? I have a hard time telling. This is the first time I ship two OCs so I don't really know how to do it right. I hpe to get some feedback on this.  
As for Ray & Candice…I actually don't know. I have yet to decide if I am going to pair Ray up with anyone right now. He could end up with Candice or Iris or Creepy-Crawly or no one at all at this point. **

**You might not remember but Fartor had an army of robots in the episode** _ **Fartzilla.**_ **It is those robots that appear in the end of this chapter.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Your reviews are highly appreciated.**


	10. Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 3)

**Episode 3: Justice is Pink-Eyed (Part 3)**

Everything was completely silent as the father and the son stared at each other. Both of them in total shock. Ray had expected to find a lab down here, but did not expect to run into his possessed father so soon. Likewise, Far-Ty was in the mid of relocating his lab equipment because he knew the Grossologists were after him but he thought for certain they wouldn't catch up to him this quickly.

Far-Ty was the first to react. "Flatubots, proceed with removing the lab equipment. I'll deal with the Grossologists." He ordered his robots and lifted himself of the floor with his mechanical tentacles.

Iris changed into her battle mood, red eyes and straight hair, and made herself ready to fight but Ray placed an arm in front of her.

"Wait! We don't want to fight, we want to talk to you dad." Raymond said.

"Why do you persist with that lie?" Far-Ty asked in a raspy tone.

"It's not a lie. I am your son, Raymond." Ray answered truthfully.

"I have never had a son. The only family I ever had was my brother Fartor and the Grossologists took him from me." Far-Ty stated and rose higher to look more intimidating.

The flatubots was disappearing thru a door at the other end of the lab and Iris couldn't take it anymore. "They are getting away!" She flew off the ramp she had been standing on and headed for the escaping robots. Far-Ty stretched out a tentacle and slapped Iris into a nearby wall.

"No, wait!" Ray exclaimed in dread, just before one of Far-Ty's tentacles reached for him. Ray jumped out of the way, rolled onto the floor before getting into a crouching position. "You never had a brother but you do have a sister." Far-Ty's tentacles came after him again. Ray activated his jetpack and flew out of their reach. He landed on the other side of the lab and his father turned to him. "Abigail. Abigail Archer. My aunt Abby." Ray tried desperately to explain.

" _Abby?"_ Far-Ty whispered to himself. He remembered back to when Abby confronted him. _'That woman also called herself Abby. She told me the same thing. Why do they both use the same lie? Is it possible they're telling the truth? Or maybe they are conspiring. They are conspiring against me."_ Enraged, Far-Ty let out noxious gas. He growled like an angry animal before attacking Ray once more.

"Dad, stop it." Ray said and jumped out of the way for another assault from Far-Ty's tendrils.

"Don't call me that!" Far-Ty shouted. He was then hit three times in the side of his head by green slime. He turned to see Iris, hovering in the air with her goopshoters showing. "I'll tear you apart!" Far-Ty exclaimed before going after her. He swiped a tentacle at her and she darted out of the way but a second tentacle grasped her by her midsection.

"Dad, don't do anything you'll regret." Ray exclaimed.

"I am no one's dad!" Far-Ty shouted aggravated. He lashed out with his tentacles, one of them captured the grossologist and pressed him against the wall. "Time to take care of this little kid problem." He rose one of his clawed tentacles above Ray's head. The talons pitched before lashing out towards Ray.

"Wait! Stop! Far-Ty!" Ray screamed.

Far-Ty's claws stopped only inches from Ray's face. "What did you say?"

Ray took a deep breath and held out his palms in an inoffensive manner. "Far-Ty. That is what you want to be called so I call you that, no more of this dad stuff but if you only give me a chance I can prove it to you." Ray reached for his pocket, a bit hard to do with Far-Ty's claw in the way. He picked up his cellphone (something he hadn't used much since he got his grossometer). He searched among his pictures and showed it to his dad. "Here, look."

Another pair of Far-Ty's claws grasped the cellphone and brought it to his face so he could see it better. The picture was from Ray's birthday and showcased Naomi sitting at the kitchen table. Far-Ty studied the image with increased interest. He could not remember seeing this woman but she was beautiful and her friendly smile was enchanting. He turned to Ray. "Who is this?"

"You really don't remember her?" Ray bended the metallic claws off him and fell to the floor. "She is your wife and my mom, Naomi. You loved her, you married her and you started a family with her. There are more pictures there if you want to see."

Far-Ty turned his attention back to picture of the angelic beauty. Then he crushed the cellphone between his talons. Ray looked on in horror as pieces of plastic and glass rained onto the floor.

He looked up at Far-Ty that stared back at him. "Sorry, but I have way too big plans to get sidetracked."

* * *

Meanwhile.

The doors to the gross-vault swooshed open and Zoey & Creepy-Crawly walked in with Roger Pink-Eye in lead. The handcuffs on his wrists did nothing to damper his spirit. He gasped happily as they entered the vault. "LabRat, you sentimental old bastard, you kept everything like it used to be." They continued walking thru the vault. "There is Fartzilla and Fowler's mechanical owl and Lance Boil's weather balloon. So much memorabilia."

Creepy-Crawly sighed. "So you said this vault has a secret room?"

"Yes. Lance Boil told me about it and he should know. He helped founding this organization when Ty & Abby was still suckling their mother's-

"Okay, we get it. You're foul mouthed. Give it a rest already." Zoey interrupted him. This man annoyed her as much as he disgusted her.

"Anyway, I hid my third stinkbomb in that room."

"Why?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"Because I fought Ty & Abby in three places back and when we were young. The school, my apartment and the Gaglab." Pink-Eye replied.

"How poetic." Creepy-Crawly huffed.

"Well, here it is." Roger exclaimed and true to his word there was a door but Zoey & Creepy-Crawly was not too impressed.

"That is the room? That is the room we use to store radioactive waste." Creepy-Crawly stated.

"It is?" Roger exclaimed surprised.

"God, you're useless." Creepy-Crawly said.

"Well, at least I know the number combination." He said and started typing on a panel by the doorframe. A tiny red light lite up and it gave of a buzz. Fail. "What?" Roger tried again and once again he failed. He scratched his head. "They must have changed the number combo."

Zoey & Creepy-Crawly sighed loudly in unison. "Okay, that's it. You had your ten minutes of fun." Creepy-Crawly proclaimed. "Zoey, you open that door and get the stinkbomb." She pointed at Roger. "You are coming with me." She grabbed the back of Roger's shirt and steered him away, starting to walk him out of the gross-vault.

Zoey walked up to the door. She placed a finger to her chin. She couldn't really remember the code. She took out her Grossometer and called her boss. "Hey LabRat. I need you to open the safety room in the gross-vault, you know the one in where we store radioactive material."

As the grossometer showed, LabRat sat in front of his desk in his office. "Um, sure but why?"

"Well, according to Pink-Eye the third bomb is there." Zoey replied.

"What? That's impossible." LabRat sounded genuinely surprised.

Zoey chuckled a bit. "Tell me about it. Roger thought it was a secret room until we took him here and it showed it was a room we all know. Must be behind on of the-

"YOU TOOK PINK-EYE TO THE GAGLAB?" LabRat interrupted in an almost explosive manner. If he wasn't crippled he would have stood up.

"Yeah, but don't worry, he is in handcuffs." Zoey reassured.

"Zoey, you need to subdue him. Right now! You have no idea what a big mistake you have done." LabRat exclaimed alarmed.

"What? Why?"

"This is how he works. He makes you think you have the advantage on him, then he flips it on you like a pancake."

"ZOEY, PLEASE, HELP ME!" Zoey heard Creepy-Crawly scream pleadingly. She turned on her heals and ran at fast as she could.

She found Creepy-Crawly on her knees in front of Roger Pink-Eye. He held a sphere-shaped device above Creepy-Crawly's head. His handcuffs where nowhere to be seen. "Look what I found just laying around." Pink-Eye said with a sadistic grin. "It's one of Insectiva's old Sound Generators. She used it to control grasshoppers but I guess it works just as great for giving your freaky friend a serious migraine."

"Turn it off!" Creepy-Crawly pleaded with her hands over her ears before falling on her side.

Roger gently let the sound generator drop to the floor. "So what are you gonna do red top."

Zoey's face hardened. She got into a fighting stance with her hands in front of her.

"You know, I always wanted to beat up your mom. You're like diet-Abby so I guess this is the closest I will get." Roger stated mockingly and bowled a fist.

Zoey jumped at Pink-Eye, trying to land a powerful kick but her opponent stepped to the side. She rotated her hips, trying to kick him again but he blocked it with his hand. "I picked up quite a few fighting styles in prison." Roger said, smirking. Zoey punched at him and he blocked it. Now, he tried to punch her but she ducked, he tried again but she leaped to the side. Zoey then managed to land a direct kick to Roger's hip, sending him flying across the floor. "Why are all kids so strong nowadays?" Roger grumbled.

Zoey walked up to him. To scare him, she ignited her hand with dark rot-energy. "Surrender or suffer my dad's legacy."

"Okay, okay, I surrender." Roger pleaded.

Zoey turned off her rot-energy and offered Roger a helping hand. Roger then smirked and with one fast hand movement, his handcuffs attached themselves to her wrist. He then yanked the chain, forcing Zoey forward and down and he head-butted her in the forehead. She fell to the side and placed a hand on her forehead where a large red lump had started swelling.

Roger Pink-Eye then dragged her to MegaMantis (a giant mantis-like robot) and handcuffed her to one of its legs. "I know you can rot thru any organic matter so think of this as a lesson in humility." He mocked. Zoey tried to pull free but it was no use.

Meanwhile, Creepy-Crawly reached for the sound generators. The infuriating sound made her head throb and made it hard to concentrate. She finally reached it. She threw it with all her might at a wall where it shattered.

She growled at Roger that simple smirked back. "You should not have made me angry." She parted her mandibles and gave of a terrifying shriek before charging at her enemy. A grinning Pink-Eye spun a kick right at the mutant's head, sending her spinning. He then then wrapped an arm around her wings and fell her to the floor while also punching her stomach. Creepy-Crawly felt as if all the air had been knocked out of her, she couldn't breathe properly.

"Creepy!" Zoey shouted in concern for her friend.

"Oh, by the way, I lied about that third bomb." Pink-Eye mocked. He walked over to a large wooden box. He lifted off the box and gleamed at what was inside. "Ha, Lance Boil's Pus-Blaster. This thing can dissolve glass so it would have no problem eating thru skin and bone." With a sinister smirk, Roger Pink-Eye walked up to the still agonized Creepy-Crawly on the floor. He placed the blaster's barrel against her temple. Overcome by fear, Creepy-Crawly stopped her squirming.

Zoey gasped. "If you hurt her I'll rot your skin off!"

Roger Pink-Eye rolled his eyes. He then took the barrel off Creepy-Crawly. "Don't worry. You girls haven't wronged me. It's the cripple I'm after."

Zoey shot a rot-blast at him but Pink-Eye dodged it before running out of the gross-vault. "See you never!" Pink-Eye said before the doors shut close behind him.

Zoey sighed defeated before turning to Creepy-Crawly on the floor. "CC, are you okay?"

"I will be…once I… kick… Pink-Eye's smug face in." The mutant hissed in-between heavy breaths.

"Don't worry, I'll call for help." Zoey reassured and picked up her grossometer. She called Ray & Iris.

* * *

Far-Ty tried to attack Iris but Ray intervened just in time by ejecting web lining from his gauntlet that captured Far-Ty's upper tentacles.

"Leave me alone boy." Far-Ty hissed and ripped of Ray's web lines. He tried to get at Ray with another tentacle but the grossologist dodged it.

Iris fired a few blasts of goop, hitting Far-Ty in the neck. It made the villain growl irritated.

" _Ray, Iris, do you hear me."_ Zoey's voice echoed over the comlink.

"We hear you, loud and clear Zoey but we are a bit busy at the moment." Iris responded just before dodging another attack.

" _Pink-Eye locked us up in the gross-vault and is going to kill LabRat!"_ Zoey shouted distressed.

"DAD!" Iris cried out terrified. Her family instincts kicked in and she flew out of the lab.

"Iris, wait…" Ray called out for his teammate but she was already gone.

"My, my." Far-Ty mused. "Seem like you have a decision to make. Stay here and try to capture me or go and save your friends. Decisions, decisions."

Ray furiously grinned his teeth and furrowed his brows at his father. After what felt like forever he finally gave out a tiered sigh. "This aint over dad." He turned on his heels, rand up the ramp and out of the lab.

Far-Ty chuckled darkly. "Such heroic nonsense. And he is supposed to be my son."

He was about to walk away when he suddenly got a headache. He palmed his temples, trying to contain the pain. Than it came. An image, a memory of that woman he saw on Ray's cellphone. What was her name? Naomi?

She lied in a hospital bed, wearing nothing but a white gown. She was holding a white little bundle in her arms. She looked his ways and smiled. Far-Ty could not remember anyone ever smiling at him and especially not like this. She was so happy that tears ran down her cheeks. Why would she be smiling?

He quickly shook his head and the thoughts went away, but not completely. _'No, it couldn't be true. Could it?'_

* * *

LabRat sat in his office, trying desperately but without any success to contact Zoey and Creepy-Crawly. "Hello, Zoey. Come in, Zoey!"

Suddenly, pus started pouring out of his door's keyhole. The lock on the door soon dissolved and fell apart. Pink-Eye kicked the door in and walked in with the Pus-Blaster in his hand. "Hello, Squirfenherder."

"Pink-Eye, what have you done to Zoey & Creepy?" LabRat asked sternly.

"They are safe. You, not as much." Pink-Eye's grin turned into a murderous scowl. "I have waited almost a decayed for my vengeance."

"Then you will have to wait a bit longer." LabRat pressed a button on his armrest and his wheelchair transformed. The wheels folded up and became rotorblades, a pair of thrusters activated under the seat and a pair of blasters folded from his backrest. Pink-Eye stared in disbelief as LabRat flew up into the air. "Hope you like itching powder, murderer." He said and the wheelchair's blasters fired a pair of small fabric sacks. When they hit Pink-Eye and the wall, they cracked and released itching powder.

Pink-Eye screamed in agony as he scratched his skin. "No, it won't end like this." He ran under LabRat's flying wheelchair. "JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL!"

He pulled the trigger and got in a direct hit at one of the wheelchair's thrusters. The wheelchair crashed against the floor, throwing off its pilot.

Pink-Eye smirked. Then scratched his side. He walked over to LabRat. "You got no idea how much I want this. You forced me off the grid! Do you have any idea of what that's like? I had to sleep in the woods and eat food out of dumpsters!"

"You killed the Director! You crippled me for life! You brought it on yourself." LabRat exclaimed.

"I never killed anybody! Although I will do an exception in your case." Roger argued. He aimed the barrel at LabRat's head.

"I saw you fire that gun, and so did two other people that's still alive." LabRat stated.

"I WAS FRAMED!" Roger screamed.

"There are surveillance tapes!" LabRat argued.

"Yeah, of me in the cafeteria. How do you explain how I got in and out of the building without anyone noticing?"

"That's trivial! Also, if you're not guilty you shouldn't have run away, you asshole." LabRat exclaimed offended.

"I ran because I knew you wouldn't listen to me. I ran because-hahahah!" Pink-Eye's arguing ended in manic laughter. He slapped his forehead. "You know what I just realized?"

"What?" LabRat asked puzzled.

"Here I am, talking to you when I should be killing you. I am so random." He smiled sadistically as he aimed the barrel against LabRat's face. He squeezed the trigger, but before it went *click* something rammed into him with tremendous speed, forcing him to slam against the wall. When he turned around, growling in pain, he saw it was Iris. The android stood stoically between him and her father. "I am really getting tiered of you revenge-blocking me, tin can."

Iris transformed her arms into goopshoters and fired slime at Pink-Eye. This taped him to the wall but his firing arm was still free. He aimed it at Iris but then smirked devilishly as a new idea entered his mind. He redirected his blaster at LabRat and shot.

Iris saw in horror as that concentrated pus went for her father's head. She quickly stepped into the crossfire and the pus hit her right in the chest. It ate thru her steel. Her hologram flickered from human to robot several time as she staggered backwards before falling lifeless to the floor.

"IRIS!" LabRat shouted and slammed his fist in the floor. "She was my daughter!"

"Yeah, and your best friend was a rat. Maybe you should rethink your life. What's left of it, anyway." Roger Pink-Eye turned the blaster barrel against the goop that was entrapping him and coated it with pus. He was careful so it wouldn't burn his skin. He then pulled himself free from the wall.

That was when Ray rushed into the room. "Oh no." Ray gasped in horror when he saw the Iris android lying on the floor.

"This room starts getting crowded." Pink-Eye exclaimed. He turned to the nearest window and with one decisive kick he smashed it. He then jumped out thru the window. Ray ran after only to see that the madman had landed on a truck tailor filled with cow manure. "Cow dung, seriously? Why is it that even when I'm lucky, I am unlucky?" Pink-Eye lamented.

Ray meanwhile wasn't happy either. The villain had just gotten away. "Rats."

"Ray, activate my computer." LabRat ordered.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Taken back by his boss' aggressive attitude, Ray ran to the computer on the office desk. He sat down and turned it on.

"Iris, are you there?" LabRat asked.

"I'm here dad." Iris's voice echoed thru the computer's speakers. LabRat sighed a sigh of relief. "I downloaded myself onto the mainframe before my body gave out."

"That's good to hear honey." LabRat said.

"I can agree on that." Ray stated.

* * *

Later in the gaglab…

Iris's body laid on a metal slab as LabRat was repairing her body. Ray and the recently released Zoey & Creepy-Crawly stood nearby, watching. LabRat had taken away the android's chest plate and was replacing some of her electronics.

"Should he really be here?" Creepy-Crawly jerked a thumb at Ray. "I mean, Iris is practically topless." It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood but it just caused Ray & Zoey to glare angrily at her. "Okay, I'll shut up."

"I thought it was funny." Iris's voice giggled thru the lab's speakers.

LabRat attached a new undamaged chest plate over her chest to cover up all her inner systems. "Okay Iris, your body should be functioning now."

The android's eyes lit up and she stiffly sat up, like a newly awaken zombie. Her hologram activated so she looked like her normal teenage self. She smiled and gently got off the table and sunk into her father's lap. She hugged him and he hugged her back. "So, did we win?" Iris asked.

"No, Pink-Eye got away." Ray sighed.

"It was our fault." Zoey lamented. "If we hadn't bone headedly taken him to the Gross-vault he would never had escaped." Her gothic friend simply hang her head in silence.

"What matters is that everyone is okay. Pink-Eye can only play his trick ones." LabRat reassured them. He kissed his daughter on the temple. "Now, if I could be excused…" Iris jumped off his lap and LabRat rolled out of the gaglab.

Zoey looked puzzeling at her teammates. "So, do you guys think Roger was lying about being guilty?"

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course he did. Your parents saw him do it."

"Yeah, plus we know he is a liar." Iris stated.

"But he seemed so sure." Zoey said, somewhat unsure.

Everyone looked at Ray. He contemplated for a moment. "I don't know." He finally sighed. "With my dad back from the dead and me being a Grossologist, I am starting to wonder if anything is impossible anymore."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So here is yet another mystery to be solved at a later episode. Is Pink-Eye more innocent than he seems? We shall see.**

 **As this chapter shows, the new Grossologists are still rookies and make dumb mistakes but they will grow.**

 **There will actually be one more chapter to this episode. An addendum if you will.  
Warning: The feels are coming, the feels are coming. **

**I hope you guys enjoyed this episode and I hope you will leave a review. :D**


	11. Justice is Pink-Eyed (Addendum)

**Episode 3: Justice is Pink-Eyed (Addendum)**

Ray's wet hair stuck to his forehead as he walked home in the rain. It was well past nine and the sky had turned black. His lips scowled and his head hung beneath his shoulders. He held his skateboard under his arm. The heavy rain would make skateboarding a choir. He wasn't happy, not one bit. After the entire Pink-Eye fiasco, he had gone back to look for traces of his father but the secret lair had been sealed up. Had even searched some of the other places LabRat had listed as potential hideouts. No finds. The thunder roared above him, causing him to startle and pick up pace. He still hated thunder.

Unbeknown to Ray, he was being watched by a pair of eyes in the sky. Far-Ty was following him, like a predatory eagle. Only his red goggles were visible against the black sky. He had been stalking Ray for a while now. The thought of Naomi, of Ray's lies had been tormenting him ever since they were put in his head. He had to get some answers or he would go mad.

Beneath him, Ray finally sidetracked onto a lawn and entered a house, his house. Far-Ty descended. The idea of getting rid of the meddling Grossologist once and for all of course came to mind but he discarded it. The heat was already on him and he didn't want more attention by killing a Grossologist and his mother. He landed on the slippery roof. His tentacles firmly grounded him. He heard voices coming from the inside. He moved down to listen more carefully.

"You brush your teeth right now and get into bed." A female voice commanded, somewhere inside the house. The voice itself wasn't unpleasant but the tone was harsh. She was clearly angry over something.

"Get off my case mom!" Ray's familiar voice echoed from inside the house before he heard a door slamming. He too sounded irritated.

Far-Ty got off the roof plates he was standing on and allowed his jet-booster to alleviate him thru the air. He looked in thru the window. He saw Naomi stepping into her bedroom. She was already wearing her night gown.

She sat down in front of a mirror and let out a tiered sighed. "Take it easy Naomi. You too used to be out late at night when you were young." She took off her tiny hair-slide and placed it in a drawer while humming a merry tone for herself.

Far-Ty moved a little bit closer to the window. He could not remember ever being close to this woman, yet her presence made him feel things he could not imagine feeling for another human being. He wanted to hold her. To wrap his arms around her and keep her from danger. He leaned in and pressed a hand against the window glass.

It squeaked…

For a split second Naomi saw another human figure in her mirror. She gasped as she turned around and…

No one there. She blinked a few times in confusion and walked up to the window. She observed the outside, turned her head left and right but saw nothing.

* * *

Far-Ty was flying high in the dark sky. He didn't know his destination, all he wanted was to get away from that house. Away from the feelings that woman was steering in him. "I have never meet her before so it is impossible for me to love her. It's that boy. That boy and his lies and that red head that tells me I am something I'm not." Far-Ty growled. He was Far-Ty. He could not be Ty Archer…Could he?

The thunder echoed in his ears and his sight went blurry. Suddenly, another headache hit him. Another memory, a flashback played out inside his head. This time it was long and livid.

 _He was sitting by a lake, looking over the glistening water mass as the sun was going down in the west. Two men was playing in the lake. One was scrawny and blond, the other one was fat and brown of hair. Far-Ty reckoned they were around 20-21 years old._

 _Something warm was pressing up to his side. Something soft. Another person. Shorter and with longer hair. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist and her head rested on his shoulder._

" _The sunset is so beautiful." She sighed happily._

" _Not as beautiful as you, Naomi." He could hear himself saying, although his voice wasn't as raspy as it is now._

 _Naomi looked up at him with tender eyes and a sweet smile. She was smaller and more tanned than the woman Far-Ty saw in the bedroom but otherwise an identical copy. She was clad in a green bikini yet her skin was dry so it must have been a while since she was in the water if she ever had been. Now when he thought about it, he had nothing on but a pair of black swim trunks._

" _Thank you, you're so sweet." Naomi said and softly kissed his lips._

The lips inside Far-Ty's gasmask suddenly felt stiff. A kiss? He can't remember ever being kissed. He had always been a methane-breather, just like his brother Fartor. He could not live with those that breathe oxygen, even less bonding with them.

 _The couple turned their attention back to the sunset. "It will be even better tonight when all the fireworks goes off." He commented._

" _As long as dad haven't left them in a leaking cellar again." The voice that said that was eerily familiar and dripping with sarcasm. He turned his head. It was that red head. Abby. She wore a wine red bikini that matched her red hair. She smiled down at him. "Hey, Naomi. You think you can let me borrow my brother for a moment."_

 _Naomi gave him another kiss before leaving. He and Abby waited until she was out of sight. Then he stood up. "So what do you want, sis?"_

" _I am just wondering if you have the thing with you." Abby asked._

" _Of course I have. It's in my belt." He replied, jerking a thumb at the camping site._

" _Are you still sure you want to go thru with it? You're still rather young."_

" _I know but I just feel in my heart that I am doing the right thing, Abby."_

 _Abby smiled. "You are the bravest person I know."_

 _Far-Ty remembered his cheeks heating up. "Thanks. What about you and-_

" _No, no, don't even bring that up. If it happens it happens. You just concentrate on making everything right tonight." Abby interrupted._

" _No worry on that part. It is all I can think about."_

"This can't be me! It can't be." Far-Ty lamented as he flew thru the air. His head started feeling dizzy. He descended towards a cliff of granite. He didn't even try to land steadily on the slippery rock. As soon as he landed, he slipped head first. His gasmask collided with the rock. A piece of the masked chipped off and he scrapped his knee bloody. He breathed heavily as he rose onto his knees. The goggles on his gasmask was smudged, making it hard to see. The rain water brought dirt from uphill, soiling his hands. He closed his eyes and ones again he was transported back in time.

 _He stood alongside Naomi as they watched the fireworks go off over the lake. It was in the dead of night and Naomi wore a green tank top and a cobalt blue skirt. He wore white button shirt, black pants and his traditional belt. They stood in an isolated forest glade, alone from all the others at the camping sight._

 _His left hand gripped one of her hands. Hers was tiny and soft, yet he held it with a gentleness he didn't know he was capable of. It felt good, it felt right. It was however what he felt in his right hand that stirred up the deepest emotions that night. His right hand was buried in his belt pocket, feeling something hard and square. His throat felt like it was filled with cotton and his body was stiff from nervousness. Far-Ty did not quite understand why this man was nervous but he felt like if he didn't succeed, his entire life would be ruined. Why did he feel so?_

" _Ty, is something wrong?" Naomi suddenly asked in a concerned tone, snapping Ty out from his contemplation._

 _He sighed. "No Naomi, everything is perfect and that is the problem." He turned to face her and held both of her hands. "There is something I have to ask you Naomi."_

" _What is that Ty?" Naomi asked perplexed._

 _Ty got down on one knee but he retained eye contact with his girlfriend. "Naomi, you know I love you. I can actually not think of another thing I value as much as you, not even being a Grossologist measures up to being yours and I know that you feel the same. I guess what I'm trying to ask is…" Ty pulled out a tiny black box from his belt pocket. He held it out and opened it, revealing a golden ring inside._

"… _Naomi, will you marry me?"_

 _Naomi stared wide eyed at her lover. Her expression turned from shock to blissful in a second. "Yes! Yes, of course I'll marry you." A tear ran down her cheek._

" _Yes? You said yes?" Ty could hardly comprehend what he was hearing. He wrapped his arms around her and spun around with her in circles. "I can't believe it. You will be my wife!" He jubilated. He stopped spinning before carefully sliding the ring onto Naomi's ring finger._

 _She gave the ring a cheerful look. She then wrapped her arms around Ty's neck and fused her lips with his. Ty placed his hands on her back to push her closer as to intensify the kiss._

 _Yet another firework exploded in the sky above and Ty felt this feeling. This feeling that everything was perfect, that the future was certain and that he and Naomi would never be apart._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Far-Ty shouted. His hand and tentacles unanimously slammed the ground over and over, water splashed all around him as the sound of rain hitting rock and metal muffled his cries. Cries. It was the first time Far-Ty could remember crying. "This isn't me! This can't be me!" He shouted. Whoever these memories belonged too, it wasn't him. He had never been this person. He had never been that happy, he had never loved anybody and no one could love him. He had always been Far-Ty. He calmed down his breathing. "It has to be them. The Grossologists, they must have planted these images in my head somehow."

He lifted himself up by his tentacles. "They want me to doubt myself. They know it is my destiny to change this world. To tear down the old and let the new grow. To make this a world the way my brother wanted it. I can't let my doubts get in the way, I have come way too far to stop now."

He turned around, gazing the city at the horizon that glowed in the darkness. "DO YOU HEAR THAT HUMANITY! I AM FAR-TY! NOW AND FOREVER AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Well, it's never that easy, is it? Nah, I will have Ty stay Far-Ty a while longer in this series. He still have a lot more evil to do. But maybe I have at least given you guys an insight in how he feels and thinks now.  
Also, I got to write a proposal scene between Ty & Naomi, which was very entertaining to do.  
Hopefully I didn't make things confusing with all the flashbacks in this chapter. I wanted to create the feeling that this was all from Far-Ty's perspective.  
For the few that did not catch it, the blond and the brunette playing in the lake was Chester & Andy. **

**For the upcoming chapters, I will be moving focus away from Far-Ty & Pink-Eye (don't worry, they'll be back) so I can focus more on some original villains I have created for this series.  
Including, an insane Herpetologist and a cleaning robot gone psycho.**


	12. Reptilian Pain (Part 1)

**Episode 4: Reptilian Pain (Part 1)**

It was late at night. A fuel truck backed onto the lakeshore of a dark swamp. It was a woodland swamp near Ringworm called Mucus Marsh. Two men, one fat and one tall with a mustache, got out of the truck, both holding flashlights. They lowered a chute from the truck down into the water.

"Tell me again why we are doing this in the middle of the night?" The fat one asked confused, scratching his head.

The taller one sighed irritated. "I told you already, because it is illegal to dump toxic waste."

"Then why are we doing it at all?"

"Because it's too expansive too dispose of it the legal way."

"But won't people see that the swamp has been um, what's the word? Polluted?"

"Dude, have yah seen this place?" The tall one asked and waved his hand at the lake. The lake was filled with car tiers, plastic bottles, scrap metal, a brain damaged dog that swam in circles and some dark, unidentified gunk. "This place is so polluted people have stopped calling it Mucus Mash and are just calling it Cesspool woods. We aren't even the only start-up business men dumbing waste here tonight." He then waved to someone on the other side of the lake. "Hey Bob!"

"Hey Carl!"

The fat one pouted a bit. "Well, I guess as long as no one notice it, it is okay." He then heard a croak so he looked down and saw a small frog that had approached his foot. Two more frogs then jumped to stand by their brother. "Awe look, a cute little frog." He said and squatted down. He held out his hand and the juniper green frog jumped up onto his hand. The man rose up and gave his taller friend a shove. "Hey Carl, look at this."

The frog then started to vibrate his body and shake his legs, removing all the green dirt. With the mud gone it was revealed to be a yellow and blue Splash-Back Poison Frog. The man gave out a pained shriek and bated the frog off his hand. "What kind of frog was that?" He asked as studied his hand. The skin was burned red where the amphibian had sat.

*Ribbit*

Sam turned his flashlight to the trees where the sound was coming from. It was filled with the same kind of frogs.

*Ribbit*

Now they came from the lake. Their flashlights revealed a large number of colorful poisonous frogs.

*Ribbit* *Ribbit* *Ribbit*

They all started jumping onto the shore and the ones in the trees fell down on the upstart businessmen. The two men screamed in horror and ran back into their truck and drove away, all while the amphibians hollered their battle cries as they overran the swamp.

*Ribbit* *Ribbit* *Ribbit* *Ribbit* *Ribbit* *Ribbit.*

* * *

 **Cue the Intro.**

* * *

Ray was sitting in front of his drawing desk. He was mixing chemicals in test tubes before placing them in a stand.

"Alright, Now I just need to let this oxidize for a few minutes and I should finally have a cure for Gonorrhea!" He exclaimed triumphantly. He then glanced worryingly at his wall clock. "But then I would be missing my favorite show…"

Ray shrugged before leaving in a rush.

His red-slider turtle Dexter followed his movements all until he left the room. The reptile then turned his attention to something delicious that lied at the other end of the terrarium. A fine green lettuce leaf. If Dexter had had lips he would have been licking them. Dexter slowly lifted his left front leg and tediously placed it down in front of him. He then repeated the process in the same slow pace, dragging his carapace over the ground. Soon, he was almost within reach of his yummy vegetable. Suddenly, a pair of primate hands wrapped themselves around his shell and lifted him away from his bellowed home. His salad growing smaller and smaller beneath him.

Ray turned his beloved pet around so they could look each other in the eyes. Ray smiled childishly. "You want to watch the show with me, don't you Dexter?"

Dexter retreated into his shell.

* * *

Ray came into the living room. He sat down and placed down his pet turtle next to him on the couch.

He had his own TV in his own room but for this show and this show only he choose to watch on the large living room TV. He turned it on with the remote and the show started with a video montage of exotic animals playing to a hip drumroll. Then came the title, _Crocodile Cade: Professional Herpetologist._

Once the intro was over, a muscular, bearded man with a fedora appeared on screen in front of a savannah landscape. "Hello, Crocodile Cade here." He greeted with a smile. "Today we're in Zimbabwe, looking for the amazing African Rock Python. One of the world's largest snakes. It's big enough to eat antelopes, goats, crocs and if the rumors are true, even human beings."

Ray continued watching the show with a smile that seemed to be like carved into his face. The sound of the door opening was followed by Creepy-Crawly walking into the room. "Hey Laser Ray."

Ray turned his attention to his friend for the shortest of seconds before turning back to the TV. "Hey CC."

"Your crazy aunt asked me to clean the house so I told her we two should do some homework together." Creepy-Crawly explained.

"Do you have any homework?" Ray asked with the smallest amount of interest.

"Of course not." The Goth replied with her knuckles resting on her hips. "What are you watching?" She asked and sat down next to him, careful to avoid Dexter. "And what is Dexter doing here?"

"Crocodile Cade: Professional Herpetologist. Dexter is watching it with me."

Creepy-Crawly arched an eyebrow at the turtle. The turtle peaked out of his shell and gave her a bored look before retreating back into his shell. "Yeah, right."

"Me and Candice watched this all the time when we were kids." Ray stated.

"So this is how you show a girl a good time." Creepy-Crawly mumbled.

Ray handed her a writing-pad, well used by the looks of it. On the cover was Crocodile Cade next to a second guy with a fedora. The second guy was thinner and instead of a beard he had a 9'o clock shadow.

"Back then it was called _Crocodile Cade & Silus Snake: Professional Herpetologists_ but for whatever reason they had to drop Silus. Sad, he was really funny." Ray explained.

With a bit of sarcastic objection, Creepy-Crawly decided to watch the show with Ray. Crocodile Cade went on about the Rock Python, like its distribution, physiology, diet, behavior and what people did to protect it. Creepy-Crawly also got the chance to pet Dexter. Even thou she was a hardcase, she was a real softie for small animals.

"Don't forget the 17th April people. Cause that is the day of my official conference where I will not just sign your books but also answer all of your questions. I hope to meet as many of you people as possible and we will have a good time." The TV-herpetologist announced.

Ray jumped off the couch, giving off a jubilating shout. Startling Creepy-Crawly. "Did you hear that?" He asked, pointing at the screen.

"Yes and so did the rest of the neighborhood." Creepy-Crawly snarled.

"The 17th is tomorrow. I have to get a ticket." Ray exclaimed. That was when his Grossometer rang so he picked it up. "Iris, can this wait? I am in the middle of something."

Iris looked a bit nervous on the tiny screen of the Grossometer. "Ray, I need you to get down to the gaglab. It-it's about your dad."

Ray was taken aback by this. He exchanged a shocked look with Creepy-Crawly. "We will be over as fast as possible."

* * *

Ray and Creepy-Crawly arrived at the gaglab, now in their respective orange and black slimesuits. Iris was there too but in her normal clothing. She stood with her legs straight, her head down and her right hand comfortingly squeezing her left arm. She truly looked like a small child, ashamed over having done something she wasn't supposed to do.

"Alright Iris, we are here. Now, what did you want to tell me?" Ray asked.

"Um, eh, well…" Iris stammered. She stroke her arm and shifted her footing. "You remember last week when we encountered your dad? Well, during the battle I-I did something I haven't told you about. I scanned Far-Ty's body with my X-ray."

Ray tilted his head. "X-ray?"

Iris nodded. "Yes, I tried to understand how his mechanical tendrils worked so maybe I could hijack them but I found something much more cryptic." The android blinked and a computer screen lit up with Far-Ty's X-ray picture. The mechanicals tendrils was there but there was something far more intriguing.

Thru out Ty's body was several silvery white lines. Some lied around his lungs, others around his stomach. Others lied along his spine and hips. One was even in his throat.

"What are those?" Ray asked, pointing at one of them.

"I don't know yet." Iris replied. She changed the image again with a blink. "There seem to be around eleven of them. They are all cylindrical in shape, hollow, made of metal and seem to contain some electronic components. Everyone must have been surgically inserted into his body. That is all I know so far." The image on screen was a 3D model of one of these cylinders.

Ray looked to Iris. "What are they for?"

"I don't know. The image is not clear enough for me to study further."

Ray blinked puzzled at the android. He then looked more closely at the screen. Iris' x-ray had been able to map all these little cylinders but could not penetrate thru them to see what was inside.

He turned to Iris again. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" He sounded confused, not angry.

Iris' large eyes got really sad. She turned her gaze to the floor. "I felt so bad for leaving you with Far-Ty. I thought that if I could figure this out maybe I could make it up to you but I can't get any further with my research. I'm so sorry."

Ray was taken aback by this. Iris had felt really guilty and she had held it in for over a week. He carefully approached her. "Iris, Iris, can you look at me?" He asked softly.

Iris sobbed a little before looking up at him.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of. Your reasons for leaving was understandable and you made the right decision. Your dad was in danger right then and there. My dad can still be saved another day." Ray reassured her.

Iris managed to smile and abruptly hugged her friend. After being a bit surprised by her action, Ray returned the hug. Even thou Iris was made of metal, her electrical impulses made her feel just as warm and soft as any other girl.

They broke the hug. "Still, this is an incredible discovery. It might help us getting my dad back." Ray stated.

LabRat suddenly appeared on one of the larger screens. "Grossologists, I have a mission for you. There have been an infestation of poisonous frogs in Mucus Marsh."

"So? Doesn't frogs usually live in quagmires?" Creepy-Crawly asked uppishly.

"Well, these are not indigenous. It might be nothing but it never hurts to be certain. I'll contact Zoey so she can catch up with you. You better get going." LabRat exclaimed before turning off the screen.

Ray clapped his hands together. "Well, we better get cracking on this new case."

Iris grinned widely. "Don't you mean _croaking?"_

Both Creepy-Crawly and Ray sighed simultaneously. They then turned their backs on the android and walked out of the gaglab.

"What? For being my first legitimate joke I don't think it was that bad." Iris said before running after her teammates.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Finally I get around to a new episode of** _ **Grossology: Evolution.**_ **The title is of course a play on the neurological concept of the** _ **Reptilian Brain**_ **and this episode will be a bit funnier and bit more lighthearted than the previous ones.**

 **Now, before anyone gets technical with me, I know that frogs are amphibians and not reptiles but this episode will deal with Herpetology, a field of study that includes both groups.**

 **Now, about the metallic cylinders in Far-Ty's body. I was actually supposed to mention them in the previous episode but it completely slipped my mind. I'm sorry, a man makes mistakes. It did however give me the opportunity to write this sweet little scene between Ray & Iris, so you can kind a call it a blessing in disguise. **

**Please, review this chapter. Your reviews mean so much to me.**


	13. Reptilian Pain (Part 2)

**Episode 4: Reptilian Pain (Part 2)**

Zoey finally arrived at the marsh were the rest of the team was waiting for her, along with Detective Gerome.

"Good to see you could join us, cuz." Ray greeted. Then he noticed that Zoey had black marks on her cheeks. "What's up with your face?"

Zoey sighed. "I accidentally ripped apart a dust-bag when I vacuumed the house."

"Jeez, if only you had had some to help you with that." Ray said sarcastically while also giving Creepy-Crawly an accusing glare.

"What did I do?" The mutant asked puzzled.

"Grossologists!" Gerome made himself heard. "Can we please focus on the task that stands before us?"

"Of course. Sorry Detective. So, what is the sits?" Ray asked.

"It's these weird looking frogs that appeared here ever since yesterday." Gerome handed Ray a glass jar with a small colorful frog inside. "People that has been here, report to the hospital with strange burns after touching the critters."

Ray studied the animal inside the jar. "Well, I can't tell what species this is. Iris, we'll need your DNA scanner here."

He handed the jar to the android. Iris unscrewed the lid on the jar and looked inside. The frog suddenly jumped up and latched onto her face. All of her friends gasped worried. Iris smiled thou. "Don't worry guys. I am a robot, remember? I am not affected by poisons." Her eyes glowed green for a moment as she scanned the frog. "According to my DNA this is a Splash-Backed Poison Frog from Brazil."

"Aw, no wonder I couldn't recognize it. Splash-Backs varies a lot in color, from blue to orange. I learned that from Crocodile Cade's frog special." Ray exclaimed.

"So what can we do about these splash-backs?" Gerome asked

"Well, the good part is that these frogs are not venomous on their own. They need to eat a certain kind of ants to produce their poison and since there are no such ants here their poison should fade away after a while." Ray explained.

"Are you sure? Cause anything that's been swimming around in this muck must be toxic." Creepy-Crawly joked.

Ray ignored her. "Just shut this area off for the public for a while so no more people touch these things."

"I still worry that these splash-backs will disrupt the swamp's ecosystem." Zoey said. "Besides, it would be pretty cruel to just leave them in this pollution."

"Leave it to me!" Iris expressed triumphantly. She transformed her arm into a barrel and started flying around, sucking every frog she could find into her barrel. After about five minutes she then landed and opened up a hatchet in her stomach area, taking out a jar filled with the captured frogs. She had managed to gather thirteen frogs.

Suddenly, Zoey desperately wrapped her arms around Iris's shoulders. "Please come home with me! I need you and your mad vacuum skills!"

Ray laughed and Creepy-Crawly giggled but Gerome was less amused.

"There is still one thing that bothers me." Gerome stated, clutching his chin. "If these frogs are from Brazil and need those ants to produce poison than someone must have purposefully feed them and released them into this swamp."

"That is true and very alarming." Ray said. Ray's grossometer buzzed so he picked it up.

LabRat appeared on the screen. "Grossologists! You are needed elsewhere. A pack of Komodo Dragons are running amuck in _Beaute Cuir._ You need to hurry." He said before hanging up.

"Seems like we are heading for Beaute Cuir." Ray stated.

Creepy-Crawly sighed. "You mean that snobby clothing store in the mall? Why can we never go to somewhere I like? Like a pizzeria or Hot Topic?"

Ray activated his jetpack and Zoey jumped up onto his back, Iris activated her jet-boosters and Creepy-Crawly started flapping her long wings and the entire team took off into the sky. This left Gerome alone on the ground.

"A 'goodbye' would have been nice." The Detective huffed.

* * *

It was hard to tell how many Komodo Dragons was in the fancy clothing store but each of them was the size of a grown man and acted very aggressively towards both customers and products. Out of coincidence, the team's classmate Rachel was there. She was pulling in a gown while a komodo dragons was pulling in the other end.

"Let go!" She screamed. The Komodo dragon thou simply pulled harder.

Ray flew in with his jetpack and lifted Rachel off the floor but she would not let go of the gown, anchoring them to the lizard. "Let go of the damn dress!" Ray exclaimed.

"No! I have had my eyes on it for days!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Is it worth getting eaten over?" Ray asked. "Besides, by now it's covered in bite marks and venomous saliva."

"Yew, lizard drool." Rachel whined and let go of the gown which caused the dragon to fall backwards onto his back.

Ray landed outside the store and placed Rachel on the floor. "Get out, now." He ordered sternly.

"With pleasure." Rachel proclaimed and stormed off, not having recognized him because of his visors. Ray turned to his teammates, waiting by the store's entrance.

"So now when we have taken care of one coldblooded predator, does anyone know how we deal with all of these?" Ray motioned to all the lizards, tearing apart clothes inside the store.

The rest of the team mumbled and turned their heads as they all tried to think up solutions to the problem. "How about one of us dress up as Danaerys Stormborn?" Creepy-Crawly suggested.

"Or a hobbit." Iris exclaimed.

Zoey looked around the mall when her eyes finally fixated on a meat market. "I have an idea. Iris, I will need your help with this. Ray & CC, you two keep the lizards busy." The rest of the team nodded before splitting up.

Inside the shop, a woman had been backed into a corner by a giant komodo dragon. It hissed ferociously as it approached her. The woman shrieked in fear. Ray flew above the situation and managed to lasso the lizard's jaws.

"Hey, that is no way to get treats. You have to give them your paw." Ray teased. The Komodo dragon growled before stepping on the webbline. This caused Ray to crash into a stand of t-shirts. The teen groggily got onto his feet, placing his hands on his back where it hurt the most. "Okay, I could have lived without that paw."

The hissing dragon charged after him but Ray managed to step to the side and jumped onto the lizard's back. He used his webs as a harness as the large lizard madly jumped around and ran in circles like a mad stallion in a rodeo. When the lizard rose up on his hind legs Ray took of his visors and wielded them in the air.

The Komodo dragon collapsed from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Creepy-Crawly approached three lizards as they tore apart some pants. "Hey, carrion breathes!" She shouted which got the attention of the predators. The largest of the three pushed his fellow lizards aside and approached the girl. Creepy-Crawly smirked. "I hunger for a good fight so please don't keep me waiting."

The lizard ran towards her but Creepy-Crawly jumped out of the way of his snapping jaws. She then slashed her claws against the dragon's neck but instead of tearing thru the scaly skin, her claws broke. The goth looked dumbfounded at her hand. "The heck! My claws broke."

The Komodo dragon came at her again but Ray jumped in front of her and fired his gross-gauntlet right in the lizard's eyes. Temporarily blinded and in pain it ran in another direction. Ray then turned to his gothic friend. "Doesn't surprise me. A Komodo Dragon's skin is reinforced by bony plates called osteoderms. I learned that-

"From Crocodile Cade, yah I get it." Creepy-Crawly finished for him, rather annoyed.

"HEY EVERYONE!" Zoey's voice echoed thru the store, causing lizards and people alike to turn their attention to the entrance. At the entrance stood Zoey and Iris hovered over the floor with a large sack filled with ham, fried chicken and beef. Zoey raised her fists and they glowed with rotting energy. All the meat started rotting and all the lizards found the rancid smell irresistible. With hissing breathes, they raced towards the two girls and the bad meat. Iris turned around and flew away with the sack of meat, closely followed by Zoey on the ground and close behind them where the lizards. Iris & Zoey exited the mall and Iris threw the sack into the open trailer of a truck. The hungry Komodo dragons ran into the trailer and started gorging themselves on the rotten meat. Zoey and Iris closed the trailer doors together. They panted from exhaustion but managed to smile at each other.

Ray and Creepy-Crawly came out of the mall. "That was a brilliant plan Zoey." Ray complimented.

"Thanks but Iris did most of the work." Zoey stated.

"You shouldn't compliment yourself yet, Grossologists!" A male voice exclaimed loudly. The team turned their attention to the top of the trailer. There stood a man with long, almost froglike legs and green, leathery skin. His clothes where somewhat more usual with a sleeveless west, white shorts and a necklace of crocodile teethes but he still looked more like a monster than an actual human.

"What the devil is you?" Creepy-Crawly asked with furrowed brows.

"I am this city's new menace. I am Hellish Herp!" He answered with a certain flare.

The team groaned and sneered unimpressed. "What?" The man asked. "It's Herp as in Herpetology."

"No, we get it. It just doesn't sound right." Ray said.

"Yeah you are right, I need a better villain name." The man agreed and pondered with a finger to his chin. "Maybe I could be Dr. Reptile but then I would leave out the amphibian aspect of my persona. Hmmm. You know what, I will come back to you about the name."

"What do you want?" Zoey shouted up at him.

"I want to avenge all the wrongs done to reptiles and amphibians alike and overthrow humanity. Or possible overthrow humanity and then avenge the wrongs done to reptiles and amphibians. I am kind of new to this villain stuff so if you could give me some pointers."

"Here is a point!" Creepy-Crawly flew up to him and punched the man square in the jaw. He fell backwards and Creepy-Crawly proceeded by pinning him to the roof. "Okay handsome, time to take off that mask."

She grabbed his leathery face and tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge. "Sorry but unless the posers in the mall, I don't need the skin of innocent reptiles. I am the real deal." The new villain stated, which startled Creepy-Crawly. "I have genetically altered myself to become the ultimate lifeform. With the best of reptiles, frogs and humans." He explained as a long green tail creeped out from behind his back and slowly wrapped itself around Creepy-Crawly's midsection. It tightened around her before throwing her across the parking space. She crashed against a car, breaking the windshield and went unconscious.

"Creepy!" Ray shouted alarmed and the team ran to their friend.

The reptilian man jumped off the trailer roof and opened the doors, freeing his Komodo Dragons. "Now, I would love to hang out with you kids but my plan is working on a far larger scale. Heheh, get it? Scale? Ahh, you get it." He jumped onto the back of one of his komodo dragons and rode away on it along with the rest of the lizards.

"CC, are you okay?" Iris asked.

Creepy-Crawly wake up. "Did we win?" She asked with barely opened eyes.

Zoey cringed. "Not. Exactly."

* * *

The next day in school. Creepy-Crawly was talking to Zoey in the corridor as the redhead unlocked her locker.

"So I had LabRat look me over for injuries and he said I was just fine."

Zoey scowled and paid little attention to her friend. "Great." She said uninterested.

"Yeah, apparently my insect-genes gives me super strong resistance to injuries."

Zoey rolled her eyes. "Lucky, lucky you."

Creepy-Crawly raised a confused eyebrow. "Um, is something wrong? Shouldn't you be all thankful that I am alright and be all hugy and Zoey-like?"

Zoey took some books out of her locker before giving Creepy-Crawly an angry stare. "Ray told me CC. You left me to clean the house alone and you didn't even had a good reason for it other than-than…laziness! So yes, I am thankful you are unharmed but I can't muster up much sympathy for you right now!" She forcefully slammed her locker and stormed off.

* * *

Creepy-Crawly found Ray by his school locker. She surprised him by grabbing his shirt, turning him around and pushing him against his locker. "Why did you rat me out?"

"What?" Ray asked dumbfounded.

"You told Zoey I skipped out on spring-cleaning."

"Hey, she simply asked me how our homework was coming along and I just simply told her the truth. What? Was that suppose the secret?" Ray's lips curved into a smug smirk which Creepy-Crawly would love to punch.

Candice came up to them. "Um, excuse me. Whenever you two are done with whatever it is you're doing, can I borrow Ray for a moment?"

Creepy-Crawly sighed and stepped away from Ray. "You can have him. I have a friendship repair." She turned her heals and stormed off with a huff.

Candice gave Ray a puzzled look. "What was that about?"

Ray shrugged. "Probably just her time of the month."

"Anyway, I wondered if you have bought tickets for Crocodile Cade's conference yet."

Ray smacked himself so hard in the face it could be heard thru out the corridor. "Awe man, I was so tired yesterday after the mission I forgot to buy. Now it's probably sold out."

"What mission?" Candice asked.

Ray got stiff as a board. He had totally not meant for that to slip out. "Um…my mission in Uganda. Yep, I have converted to Catholicism and is a missionary now."

There was an awkward silence between them for a moment. "Ookay…anyway, I was forthcoming and bought seven tickets a head of time." Candice stated.

Ray's face lit up. "You did?"

"Yep." Candice replied and held up seven yellow tickets. "They are for us two, Zoey, CC, Iris, Hugo and NJ."

"Sick Candice! Have I ever told you that you are totally freaking awesome?"

"Yeah but I never get tiered of hearing it." Candice smiled.

Then Molina and Rachel came up to them. They had overheard what they had been talking about. "Did you hear that Rachel? We will have to spend our afternoon stuck with the dork squad." Molina said.

"Ugh, just our luck." Rachel sighed.

Ray and Candice both raised confused eyebrows. "You two are going to Crocodile Cade's conference?"

The two popular girls nodded.

"Why? Since when has you two cared about natural science?" Ray asked.

"We don't." Molina exclaimed.

"But we do find Cade to be totally dreamy." Rachel said and the two simultaneously sighed dreamily. Rachel then took out two tickets from her pocket. "I got us tickets on the first row." She then glanced over at Candice's tickets. "I see you only got second-row tickets. I guess that means you will only see our asses at the conference."

"Rachel, my father's space satellite can see your ass." Candice stated, which caused Rachel to blush of embarrassment.

"I guess we are bigger Crocodile Cade fans than you dorks." Molina mocked.

"I hardly think so. We have been watching the show ever since it started." Ray argued.

"Oh yeah, look what I bought." Rachel opened up her backpack and took out a rolled up poster. She unrolled it in front of the others. It was a really old poster featuring both Crocodile Cade and Silus Snake, lifting a giant anaconda together. "It is Crocodile Cade _with_ his old partner Simon Snake." Rachel exclaimed.

"It is Silus Snake dumbass." Candice snapped. Ray thou stared at the poster as thou he was enchanted. He had an epiphany.

"Sick. Rachel, can I borrow this for a moment?" He asked.

Rachel looked offended. "Absolutely no-

"Thanks!" Ray snatched the poster and ran away. "I GIVE IT BACK TO YOU AT OUR NEXT CLASS!" He shouted back at them.

"IF I FIND A SINGLE RIP ON IT I WILL HAVE MY BOYFRIEND TURN YOU INTO MUSH!" Rachel screamed at him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ray had gathered his teammates in one of the clubrooms.

"Okay, look. Here we have Rachel's poster." Ray placed the poster with Crocodile Cade & Silus Snake on a table. He then laid an arc of thin transparent plastic over it. "And now we add some green." He took a green ink pen and started painting over Silus Snake. When he was done all his teammates gasped.

Silus Snake looked exactly like their new villain.

"So Silus Snake is the reptile man?" Zoey asked.

"Seem so. I can't believe I didn't realize it earlier. Even his last name is Herp." Ray explained.

"I don't get how this helps us? Silus Snake said he wanted to avenge the wrongs done to reptiles and amphibians." Creepy-Crawly said.

"So far this statement checks out." Iris said. "Mucus Marsh used to be home to several native species of frogs and Beauty Cuir has imported skin of snakes and alligators."

"Yeah but the coincidence is too big. Silus Snakes starts committing crimes just as his old partner returns." Ray shook his head. I don't know why he was fired from the show but it must have been pretty bad if he turned to a life of villainy."

"So what do you suggest we do now?" Iris asked.

Ray grew an ear to ear smile. "We will have to seek up Crocodile Cade!"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So now we have a new villain, Silus Snake. The mad, genetically altered herpetologist. I know I could have made two villains with this concept, one with a reptile gimmick and one with an amphibian gimmick but I felt that would be too much like the Insectiva/Arachnidia thing from the show so I made only one. I will try to make him a bit more comical than the other villains of this series.**

 **Tell me what you think of him.**

 **As usual, your reviews are very appreciated.**


	14. Reptilian Pain (Part 3)

**Episode 4: Reptilian Pain (Part 3)**

Crocodile Cade laid in a sofa in his large trailer, reading a newspaper. He was wearing a white bathrobe.

His cameraman, a short black man with curly hair walked up to him. "Cade, there are four kids here to see you."

"Are they more fans? Tell them to go away. My ears are still recovering from those screaming girls that ambushed us when we arrived here." Cade said, frowning.

"I don't think they are fans. They are wearing uniforms." The cameraman leaned in a little and lowered his voice. _"I think they are Grossologists."_

This startled Cade a bit. He stood up and walked to the door. When he opened it he was greeted by Ray, Creepy-Crawly, Iris and Zoey in their Slimesuits.

"Um, hey. Can I help you with something?" Cade asked with a slight Australien accent.

Ray was smiling widely. He tried to say something but not a coherent word came out. Creepy-Crawly rolled her eyes before shoving Ray out of the way. "We are from the bureau of Grossology sir and we have come for your protection." She stated.

Crocodile Cade blinked surprised.

* * *

Crocodile Cade welcomed the team in and they explained the situation for him.

"Are you sure it's Silus?" Cade asked.

"Sadly it is. We meet him." Zoey replied.

"Although he was hard to recognize with all that leathery skin." Creepy-Crawly huffed.

"Crocodile Cade, sir? What happened to Silus?" Ray asked. "You have never mention where he went."

Cade sighed. "Well, it was hardly the happiest chapter of my life."

"Oh, are you writing a memoir?" Ray squeaked enthusiastically.

Cade stared weirdly at him. "Um…no."

"Oh." Ray sounded disappointed.

* * *

 _ **Flashback.**_

" _Me and Silus had just finished our work on monitor lizards in India." Cade explained. "On our way back to the hotel we came across a snake charmer. You know, one of those with a flute. Anyway, he had an entire box filled with cobras and one in a jar that danced to his fluit. The thing about most snake charmers are that they remove the fangs of their snakes so they won't bite them. Tragically, this leads to the snake slowly starving to death. I was of course disgusted by this charade of manly courage but Silus was a bit more than disgusted."_

 _Silus grit his teeth before running up to the snake charmer. He kicked away the jar with the cobra and grabbed the flute before forcing it down the frightened snake charmer's throat. He then flipped the box filled with cobras. The snakes slithered out on the grass and the audience that had been enjoying the show ran away, screaming in fear. Silus Snake laughed maniacally until Crocodile Cade came up from behind and knocked him unconscious._

" _Silus was charged with attempted manslaughter. Thankfully the studio could pay the fine for his release but they fired him for embarrassing the studio."_

* * *

"I haven't heard from him since." Crocodile Cade finished his story.

"Whow! Silus Snake went off the deep end." Ray exclaimed.

"Well, he was always a pretty weird guy…but he would neve harm me." Cade stated, standing up. That was when someone knocked on the door. "Wait a minute." Crocodile Cade went to open the door but Ray ran ahead of him.

"Let me take it. It might be Silus." Ray said. "Creepy, you are with me."

"Why should I be a human shield, I almost broke my spine yesterday?" Creepy-Crawly asked annoyed.

"Just do it, lazy-pants." Zoey spat.

Creepy-Crawly sighed and went to open the door with Ray. Ray opened the door but there was no one there. They looked around but the only thing they saw was a CD on the ground with the text _PLAY ME_. Ray picked it up and the two exchanged curious looks.

They went back in and played the CD on a television screen. Silus Snake appeared on screen with a sadistic grin. "Hey Cade, you old wallaby butcher. It's me, your old pal Silus Herp. I hope you recognize me despite my baldness." He stroked his scalp with his hands. "And that I now have scaly skin, sharp fangs and this tail." Silus held up his tail to show them. "In only the last couple of days I have taken the marsh back for the frogs and I have stricken a serious blow to the skin trade. I have saved more reptiles in this tiny little town in a few days than you have for years with your televised hippie message about protecting the environment. There is therefore no reason for you to continue with your work so at today's conference you will announce that you are going to retire early otherwise all your fans will become snake snacks."

The video message ended.

Creepy Crawly crossed her arms and made a sarcastic sound. "Whup-whup-whup."

* * *

Later at the conference. Ray arrived along with Candice, NJ and Hugo.

"Sad that Iris, CC and Zoey couldn't join us." Candice said.

"They were too busy spring cleaning." Ray exclaimed.

"More room for us." NJ stated as they took their seats. Molina and Rachel arrived wearing really big summer hats. They sat down right in front of Ray and his friends.

"Aw, come on!" Candice wailed.

"We can't see anything." Hugo complained.

Molina turned to them, smirking. "What? Its hot outside and these hats helps us keep cool."

"Good but you are indoors now so you can take them off." Candice exclaimed, leaning back in her chair.

While his friends where busy arguing, Ray checked the ceiling. He saw Zoey and Creepy-Crawly in their slimesuits, standing vigilantly up on a gallery, ready in case Silus Snake would show up. He gave them a thumb up and they waved to him in response.

Crocodile Cade walked up to the podium with a large smile and for a bit over an hour things went according to plan. Crocodile Cade talked about the show, his new book and other things before answering the fans' questions.

After some time Rachel reached up her hand. "I have a question about the crocodile teeth on your hat. Is it true that you wrestled an alligator for them?"

Cade struggled not to sigh. "No, I have never wrestled an alligator. I got these teeth from my dad's wildlife sanctuary in Australia. We capture animals that gotten to close to humans before relocating them to safer environments. Sometimes we get in crocodiles and they lose their teeth all the time. Okay, we have a few minutes left so does anyone have any really important questions?"

A tall man in fedora and trench coat stood up. One could not see his face. "Yes, I wonder if you consider retiring soon?" The question put both Ray and Crocodile Cade on edge.

"Um, no I have no plans for retiring any time soon. Maybe in twenty years or so." Cade replied with a nervous chuckle.

"But won't your premature death make it hard to continue the show?" The man asked darkly.

"What does that mean?" Cade asked.

The man held up a green scaly hand and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the doors shut open and a giant green anaconda slithered in with a sharp hiss. It was larger than any other anaconda. People screamed in horror and ran toward the backdoors in the other end of the room. In the chaos, Ray managed to sneak out of sight. Just as Crocodile Cade was about to open the back doors an equally giant Rock Python came thru those very doors. It wrapped its body around Cade's body in a crushing hug. Now people really started to panic.

Silus Snake threw his trench coat into the air and laughed amused. "Eat my darlings! Have some growth hormone-free snacks for once." He zeroed in on the tangled up Cade and jumped towards him but before he reached him Creepy-Crawly swopped in. She pinned Silus to the floor, her wings and mandibles bared. "I have been waiting for a rematch."

Silus Snake managed to kick her off with his powerful legs. Creepy-Crawly thou managed to flap her wings before she hit the floor and landed safely. Silus stood up and looked hungrily at Creepy-Crawly. He licked his lips with a snakelike tong. "I think my frog-genes are affecting my appetite. You look good enough to eat, bug."

"I would give you indigestion." Creepy-Crawly spat.

Meanwhile, NJ enthusiastically watched the fight. "This is cooler than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!"

"Stop getting distracted. We need to find a way out of here so we don't get eaten." Candice told to him.

Zoey used her rot-powers to make a large opening in the wall. "This way everyone!" She shouted and everyone ran out. Hugo stopped to take a look at her but he didn't recognize her because of her uniform and Kid Rot-like appearance. He smiled none the less.

"Thanks." He said before running off.

Zoey blushed a little. Her moment of happiness was short lived thou when the Rock Python came up to her. "Alright you giant worm, follow me." The redhead exclaimed and ran further into the building. The snake, attracted by all the heat Zoey was radiating followed her.

Meanwhile, Creepy-Crawly and Silus Snake continued their fight when Ray flew above them with his jetpack and wrapped Silus Snake up in his webbing. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Mind if I do?" Silus Snake retorted with a smirk. He spun around and ripped the webbing apart with his claws. He then jumped up into the air, made a flip and stuck to the ceiling with his feet. "I also picked up some gecko-genes on the way here."

Ray scowled before flying toward his opponent. Silus Snake took out a spash-back frog from his west and threw it right onto Ray's face. Ray screamed. "No, it burns." Silus Snake leaped from the ceiling, landed on top of Ray and ripped his jetpack apart.

Creepy-Crawly flew of the floor and tried to catch her falling teammate. Unfortunately Ray crashed right into her head and they both crashed to the floor. Silus Snake landed safely on the floor. With the Grossologists temporarily out of the fight he could now focus on Crocodile Cade. He jumped up on the back of his anaconda as it continued crushing Cade.

Silus Snake smiled sadistically at his former partner. "Doesn't this bring back memories? You and me wrestling anacondas together, the only difference is that now I am on the scaly side. What is it Cade? Are your lungs too squeezed to say anything?"

"No, I have something to tell you Silus." Cade said.

"Oh, and what is that?"

Crocodile Cade suddenly turned into Iris. "I am not Cade." Her neck ejected and her hard cranium collided with Silus's. The reptilian man fell unconscious to the floor.

Iris tried to struggle free from the snakes grip but it didn't help. Fortunately Creepy-Crawly and Ray had come to. Creepy-Crawly landed on the snake's neck like a mosquito and bit it in its most vulnerable area, its earhole. The snake wriggled in pain and released its grip of Iris. The anaconda hissed threateningly as it fruitlessly tried to get to Creepy-Crawly. In that moment Iris flew in, seized the snakes tong and gave it an electric shock. The snake fell unconscious to the ground.

Iris and Creepy-Crawly landed on the ground. The goth gave the android a confused look. "Why didn't you do that before?"

"Electric shocks often constrict muscles so if I did that while I was still trapped the snake would only have crushed me harder." Iris explained.

Ray finished up webbing Silus, this time he made sure not to leave the villain's claws free. "Nice job girls." He then looked around and started to get worried. "Where is Zoey? And where is the Rock Python?"

* * *

The snake had managed to hunt Zoey into a corner but each time it tried to bite her Zoey shocked it with a rot-blast. It was only strong enough to cause miner harm. Zoey didn't want to kill the animal if she could avoid it.

A sudden spit of acid hit the python's back. It hurt and the snakes turned around to see Creepy-Crawly standing in a bathroom. "Hey leggless, try to mess with someone your own freaky!"

The snake turned around and slithered as fast as it could towards Creepy-Crawly, once close enough it striked.

*CRASH*

It hit its head against the mirror which cracked. The snake's head fell to the floor along with shards off glass. Creepy-Crawly actually stood in the other end of the bathroom. "I am magical!" She jubilated.

* * *

Some moments later, the police had arrived.

Detective Gerome lead Silus Snake to the police car in handcuffs. Before they reached the car thou they meet Crocodile Cade. He had a disappointed frown on his face.

"Cade!" Silus exclaimed. "You betrayed me and then you haven't even the balls to show up to face me."

"I didn't betray you Silus." Cade stated. "I stopped you from doing something even worse. I am sad that this is what you did with your life."

"Well, this isn't the end of me! I will be back and the Mesozoic will rise again!" Silus exclaimed while Gerome tried to force him into the police car. "Oh, by the way Grossologists, I called my lawyers earlier and they told me I still legally own the name Silus Snake. Do you hear me? I am Silus Sn- hfff." Gerome shoved him into the car and closed the door.

"Geez, how can a man with a forked tong talk so much?" Gerome sighed.

Zoey walked up to Creepy-Crawly. "Hey, thanks for saving me."

"Meh, it's what badasses do." Creepy-Crawly retorted, smirking.

"I guess you are off the hook with the entire spring-cleaning thing." Zoey stated.

"No, I'm not. Spring time is still here and I want to make it up to you." Creepy-Crawly said.

* * *

The next day…

Crocodile Cade (the real one this time) walked up to a podium as an applauding audience celebrated his arrival. Ray, Iris, Candice, Hugo & NJ was sitting in the front row.

"It was nice of Crocodile Cade to have a second conference after that weird thing with the snakes." Candice said once they sat down.

"Yeah, except now we get to sit in the front row," NJ said and wrapped an arm around Rachel, "with the babes."

He tried to kiss her but Rachel pushed him away. "Ewe, you're so sweaty."

Molina scowled with her arms crossed over her busty chest. "How did you get better tickets this time by the way?"

Hugo jerked his thumb at Ray. "Ray somehow got us new seats."

Molina blinked puzzled. "How?"

"That is for me to know and you to not ignore." Ray stated.

Crocodile Cade started talking and everyone turned their attention to him. Taking advantage of the moment, Ray took out his Crocodile Cade notebook and opened it. He smiled at a text written with ballpoint pen.

' _From a Professional Herpetologist to a great Grossologist.  
Your friend, Crocodile Cade.'_

* * *

Meanwhile at Abby's home.

Creepy-Crawly turned-off the vacuum cleaner and sighed from exhaustion after having methodically cleaned the kitchen. She smiled a bit thou.

Abby walked up to her. She smiled proudly and placed a hand on the goth girl's shoulder. "Nicely done Creepy."

"Thanks Mrs. Archer. I guess it was time for me to pay you guys back for letting me stay here."

"Oh, that's okay. We would allow you to stay no matter what. We know that you are new to things like choirs and rules and such but we also know that you are trying your best. We are very happy to have you here." Abby exclaimed.

Creepy-Crawly smiled brightly. "You know, I have cleaned houses before." She said. "Once my dad, Sloppy Joe didn't give me the puppy I wanted for my birthday so I cleaned his entire living room. He got so frustrated I thought he was going to have a heart attack." Creepy-Crawly and Abby bursted out laughing.

"Yeah, that sound like old Sloppy alright." Abby said.

Zoey came down the stairs, wearing yellow rubber gloves. "Alright, I finished cleaning the bathrooms. All that is left now is the living room."

"Oh, I had my friend clean it." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

"What friends?" Abby asked puzzled.

The three women walked to the living room. What they saw made Abby drop her jaw.

The entire room was filled with ants that cleaned it by carrying away with dirt and dust bunnies, leaving in armadas thru the terrace door and walking in again in equally large troops.

"Well, you said you wanted help," Creepy-Crawly shrugged, "So I did what I could."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So that was that of Reptilian Pain. I have to admit I am not too proud of this episode. I think the problem was that I had no idea what the focus would be. Should it have been on Ray's admiration of Crocodile Cade, Zoey & Creepy-Crawly's relationship, Ray & Iris's relationship, Silus Snake's backstory? I didn't know I didn't think all of it thru and it ended up having the same ending as the other episodes but I did the best I could with what I had. I guess I could go back and rewrite this but that would feel too much like cheating. Hopefully it was still worth reading. I promise the next episode will be a bit more original and thought out.  
What kept me going was writing for Silus Snake. He is a very entertaining villain and I will definitely use him in later episodes. Plus, we got to see the girls kicking ass which I always enjoy writing. **

**Hope you leave a review.**


	15. Goiter Destroyer (Part 1)

**Episode 5: Goiter Destroyer (Part 1)**

Candice screamed lauder than she ever had before. She screamed lauder than a tortured prisoner, lauder than a stuck pig, lauder than a screaming baby. She tried to resist. She truly did try to stop herself from screaming her throat out but she couldn't help herself. After all, the rollercoaster was just so much fun.

Next to her was her friend Hugo that screamed just as laud and in the cart behind them were NJ. The carnival was in town for the first time of the year and everyone was there, except for Ray, Zoey, Creepy-Crawly and Iris. They never seem to have time to have fun nowadays Candice noted.

The rollercoaster came to stop and the three stepped off.

"That was fun." Candice stated.

Too much fun." NJ grumbled, clutching his stomach. "I need to deliver some chowder." He ran as fast as he could towards a garbage can. He leaned over it and puked.

"Didn't you get a barf-bag?" Hugo asked.

"It…is…full." NJ replied in-between heavy breaths. Then he puked again. "This is the fifth time tonight." He puked again. He then cleaned his lips with the back of his hand. "Okay, I think I'm empty now. So who want corn dogs?" He asked happily pulled out three corn-dogs on sticks.

His friends stared disgusted at him. "You kiddin, right? How can you still have an appetite?" Candice asked annoyed. NJ shrugged and started eating one of the corn-dogs. "Have you ever considered that you would throw-up less if you ate less?" Candice asked with her arms crossed.

Hugo stuck a finger in the air in that _matter-of-fact_ gesture. "Actually the reason why rollercoasters makes us puke is because the higher G-forces puts pressure on our stomachs and esophagus."

"Hahah. The smart guy is on my side." NJ teased.

"No, I'm not. I really do think you should eat less or at least less junk food. We also puke because of toxic-

"No, no, you corrected her. That means you are on my side and I can eat whatever I want. Game, set, match." NJ snapped his fingers and started walking off.

Candice sighed. "Is there any winning with that guy?"

"Hey guys, come look at this!" NJ shouted and Hugo & Candice ran after him. They found NJ standing in front of a poster. The poster showed a slim woman with both her feet touching the back of her head.

"The Amazingly Flexible Felicia. The world's most bendable woman." Hugo read.

"She's pretty hot." NJ commented.

"The next show is in 5 minutes." Hugo said.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Candice exclaimed jolly.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a secluded part of the circus tent, Flexible Felicia trained her act. She lifted both arms and right leg up in the air, above her head while balancing on her left foot. Felicia was of Russian descent. She had raven-black hair tied in a bun and a beauty mark on her right cheek.

"Excuse me." A male voice said. Flexible Felicia turned around only to be blinded by a flash of light. She blinked a few times till her sight became clear. In front of her stood a clown with one of them red ball-noses. "Sorry to interrupt miss Felicia, I just came to wish you good luck." The clown said smilingly.

"Oh, thanks." Felice shook his hand. She wondered where that flash of light had come from but she didn't put much thought in it. "I have never seen you here before. Are you new to our troop?"

"Um…yes. I am Doctor Bi-Bi-Bi…um,"

Felicia raised an eyebrow. "Dr. Ba-Ba?"

"Yes, that's it. I am the baffling Dr. Ba-Ba, the circus clown." The clown clarified, once finding his voice.

"Felicia, you're on!" The circus conductor yelled.

"I have to go now. See you later Ba-Ba." She said and walked out of the room. The clown waved her off with a toothy smirk.

As Felicia headed for the circus arena she started feeling tiered. Really tiered.

* * *

Candice, Hugo & NJ had taken their seats in the audience.

"Hey guys!" A female voice peeped.

The trio turned to the voice. She was a red-haired girl with a face full with freckles and a pink shirt with a skull on and green miniskirt. They knew her. "Hey, Ruby." Candice greeted.

"Hey Candice. Hugo. BJ." Ruby greeted with an upbeat smile.

"NJ." NJ corrected with his mouth fill with corn-dog.

"Sorry, dyslexia." Ruby joked. "But I would say that there is a name missing from your troop."

"Yeah, sadly Zoey couldn't be here." Hugo stated somewhat downtrodden.

Ruby pouted. "Not her fruit-loop." She then smiled crazily. "Ray. Where is he if not with you?"

Candice smiled, tilted her head a bit. "Not with us. Maybe with CC and Iris."

" _He better not."_ Ruby growled under her breath.

The lights went dark except for a spotlight in the middle of the arena. _"AND NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS OF ALL AGES. THE AMAZING FLEXIBLE FELICIA!"_ The circus conductor's voice echoed thru the tent.

When Felicia stepped out onto the arena, she was fat, incredible fat. Her legs looked like giant hams and her puffed-up cheeks hide most of her mouth. The audience fell silent with disbelief.

"She doesn't look _that_ graceful." NJ stated.

"Maybe the camera takes off a couple of pounds." Hugo suggested dubious.

"All two hundred of them?" Candice japed sarcastically and a little puzzled. She looked around. "Hey, where is Ruby?" It was true, the ginger girl had disappeared.

Despite her sudden fatness, Felicia still tried to perform her feat. She got up on the podium she was supposed to perform on but it couldn't handle her weight and cracked into splinters. Felicia fell on her back. She felt dizzy but still tried to bend her legs as the feat required but her limbs were now so freaking fat that her thighs scrapped against her shank when she tried to bend it backwards.

Some in the audience laughed at her, others booed at her to get off the arena.

"Oh, no. She's losing the audience!" The circus conductor exclaimed worried from behind the curtains. He turned to his clown posse. "Chuckles, get out there. NOW!"

Chuckles, the leader clown, sighed depressed. "What is the point? Everything is meaningless and so boring."

"What is the meaning of this? You are clowns, you are not supposed to be sad!" The conductor exclaimed.

One clown laughed thou. The one that Felicia had talked to earlier. The conductor crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "Well, at least one of you is having fun." He stated sarcastically. "What is so funny about this?"

"Depressed clowns. That's rich! HAHAHAHAHAH!" His red nose fell off and he wiped the clown make-up off his face, revealing skin as yellow as a banana.

"Oh, my." The conductor exclaimed terrified as the yellow man continued laughing manically.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

* * *

 **Cue the Intro.**

* * *

The next day in school.

Ray and Zoey walked thru the school corridor. Around them, the school was active with students. A large fat boy walked past them. Strangely he wore a football-shirt so a lot of his stomach was showing. Ray stared puzzled at him for a second as he passed before turning to his cousin. "Is it me or have obesity really skyrocketed lately?"

"I guess so. The average teen's diet mostly consist of junk food so its not too surprising." Zoey replied.

Ray shewed his lips a bit. "Yeah but still. So many people putting on this much weight this quickly? I mean, it's absolutely-

Ray tripped and fell nose-first onto the floor. "Ouch." He looked behind him to see what he tripped on. It was a sleeping student. He rested with his back against the wall. Annoyed, Ray dusted himself off and stood up. "That's the second sleeper I trip over today. What is going on here?"

"Well, it is Monday morning. Tiered teens aren't anything new." Zoey stated.

"Yeah but normally they don't just fall asleep in the hallway. This is weird." Ray argued.

"Hey Zoey, Ray, come over here." NJ waved at them. His voice was much, much raspier than usual. The cousins walked over to him. Hugo stood next to NJ. "Look at this." NJ said and pointed at his throat where a grotesque large lump had formed. "My Addams apple have grown out. Women won't be able to resist me now."

Ray studied the lump and cringed. "That's not an Addams apple, NJ. That's a goiter and a pretty big one at that."

"What's a goiter?" NJ asked with heavy breath.

"Agotherifansweliengothefyrodglad." Hugo mumbled incoherently.

"What did you say Hugo?" Zoey asked.

"Iwausteplaininwatagoteris." Hugo replied, still completely incoherently.

"What are you talking about?" Ray asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hugo sighed in defeat. He stuck out his tong. It was red and swollen and so large it barely fit in-between his lips.

"Aww, poor Hugo." Zoey said.

"So Hugo get a swollen tong the same day as NJ gets a goiter? That is weird." Ray commented.

"I can testify to that." Ray heard Candice say. He turned around and shrieked in horror at what he saw. Candice had lost a lot of hair on her head, leaving a glassy scalp over her forehead. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was ghostly thin. Candice scowled and crossed her arms at Ray's shrieking. "Good, I was afraid you would overreact." She said sarcastically before proceeding with opening her locker.

"Candice, you look so-so…

"Ugly, terrifying, disgusting?"

"I was gonna say zomble-like but I guess those adjectives works too." Ray clarified. "What happened?"

"Don't know. I woke up like this." Candice replied with a shrug.

Then Ray saw something shocking. "Well, at least you're not as bad of as her." He said and pointed at Molina as she walked down the corridor. The once hottest girl in Ringworm High was now fat as a pig. She seemed depressed.

"Well, well, Molina. You should have cut down on those French cuisines while you had the chance." Zoey teased before giggling.

Molina gave her a mournful look. She looked so sad that she didn't even look like Molina. Zoey felt strangely bad for her long time rival. "Sorry."

"I can't believe this is happening to me!" Molina whined and stroked her stomach. "I am always very careful with what I eat. All those diet cookies lied to me!"

"Hey Molina." Rachel walked up to them, wearing a very thick fur coat. "What do you guys think of my new muskox coat? It is the latest fashion in em, the North Pole. That's why I'm wearing this, not because it's so incredible cold in here, nope." The blonde exclaimed with a fake smile.

"See you geeks later…at the freaks show." Molina mocked and she and Rachel took their leave.

Ray clutched his chin while contemplating. "Goiters, enlarged tongs, sleepiness, weight loss in some, weight gain in others, swollen eyes, hair loss, sensitivity to cold. If I didn't know better I would say it's a Hypotyroidism-epidemic."

"Permit me to laugh at that. Ha-ha-ha." Candice said, sounding sarcastic.

"Why is that so absurd?" Ray asked, sneering.

"Hyptyroidism isn't some disease that can be passed around like the cold. It's a disorder caused by not enough triiodothyronine." Candice replied while picking out some books from her locker.

"What is Hypotyrannism for something?" NJ asked. "Has it something to do with Tyrannosaurs?"

"Thno. Ifahomonecreatedbyte-

Zoey cut Hugo off by gently patting his shoulder. "Spare your voice Hugo." She said and Hugo sighed. "Triiodothyronine is a hormone, produced by the thyroid-gland. It regulates our cells' metabolism."

"Exactly and when that gland doesn't work we get Hypotyroidism. The symptoms are well, everything I just mentioned." Ray stated.

"That doesn't mean it's an epidemic. We all just need more iodine in our diet." Candice stated.

"It still seem really weird to me. Excuse me for a moment." Ray said and ran off.

* * *

Ray entered the boy's bathroom and took out his grossometer. He turned it on and called LabRat at the bureau's headquarter.

"LabRat, something strange is going on at my school. It seem like everybody has-

"Hypothyroidism." LabRat finished his sentence.

Ray blinked confused. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"We got "outbreaks" all over the city. The athlete's club, the gym, the football stadium, the park. Not to mention all the single case citizens reported with symptoms." LabRat explained.

"Sounds like a job for the junior Grossologists." Ray said, smirking a bit.

LabRat clutched his chin. "I suppose it is worth a closer look. Okay, gather your team and meet me in the gaglab for a briefing."

* * *

Ray and Zoey rushed towards their lockers. Zoey's scarf fluttered in the air like a flag. They skidded to a halt in front of their lockers. Creepy-Crawly came in from the left just as Iris ran in from the right. Iris and Ray exchanged pleased looks while Zoey and Creepy-Crawly did the same. Each grossologist took a hold of their respected combination locks and turned them to the G-setting. Their lockers opened and they simultaneously stepped in. Inside her locker, Zoey closed her eyes as a red light above her turned on and soon she was teleported to the gaglab. The same thing happened in the other three lockers.

* * *

A bit later at the gaglab.

"…So that's the case." LabRat finished his briefing of the situation. The Grossologists listened from their sofa. "It would seem like wherever there's physical fit people in this town, Hypothhyroidism breaks out."

"Like the circus at the carnival where most of our schoolmates were at last night." Iris pointed out.

"But why?" Zoey asked.

"Seem to me like whoever is doing this really want people to notice him. If he wanted to hide he wouldn't have chosen victims that so obviously display the symptoms." Ray stated.

"Maybe they are just coincidences." Creepy-Crawly shrugged indifferently with one arm cast over the sofa's backrest.

"They are not coincidences Creepy." Ray exclaimed irritated.

"Whatever, as long as I get to bust some heads." Creepy-Crawly shrugged and fisted her palm.

"I HAD TO SEE IT TO BELIEVE IT!" Everyone turned to the source of the manly voice. There, at the entrance to the gaglab was two men, both wearing the same green slimesuits as all Senior Grossologists (the same colors as the Director had worn). The taller of the two men had blonde short hair and his face was twisted into an angry scowl. He seemed to be in his late thirties. The shorter man seemed younger, pudgier and his hair was black. His expression seemed more weirded-out than angry. The tall man walked up to them with rapid, anger driven steps. "I heard gossip that you had started up the Junior Grossology program but I wouldn't believe them."

Despite the man's angry tone LabRat remained calm and in good spirit. "Yet you decided to peek into it anyway. That's what I always liked about you Nigel, you are always so thorough." LabRat turned his wheelchair back to the teens. "Junior Grossologists, this is Nigel and Norman. My two best Senior Grossologists." He once again turned his attention to Nigel. "Nigel, Norman, this is Ray and Zoey Archer, Creepy-Crawly and my daughter Iris."

Nigel studied them coldly but Norman blinked dumbfounded before smiling. "Archer? As in Ty and Abby Archer, the legendary Grossologists?"

Ray raised a puzzled eyebrow. "Well, those are the names of our parents. We have just never heard them being called "Legendary".""

Smiling, Norman got up to them and shacked Ray's hand. "It is an honor to meet you Ray, you too Zoey. I am Norman, but you can call me Norm if you like. I am your parents' biggest fan. I once saw them fight Insectiva and it made me want to be a Grossologist."

" _Total fan-maniac."_ Creepy-Crawly whispered to Iris who giggled a bit.

"I can't believe you are so irresponsible that you let children do your dirty work." Nigel spat.

"You were a Junior Grossologist too once." LabRat stated.

"I was just a stupid kid that didn't know what he was doing back then. Ty & Abby too which is probably why they left." Nigel crossed his arms over his chest.

Norman leaned over to Ray. "I actually wanted to work with Ty & Abby but I was a bit too late so I was teamed up with Nigel. Not that I complain, he is actually pretty cool."

"Pffh." Ray vented, clearly disagreeing.

Nigel and LabRat ignored the others conversation and kept to their own arguing. LabRat's lips bended down a bit. "They left cause they felt taking care of their families were more important. Plus a few other things."

"And now you put their kids in danger. Isn't that a fine way to honor them?" Nigel quipped sarcastically.

"Wait a second here!" Ray exclaimed and walked up to Nigel. "We have saved this city on multiple occasions and we have done a really good job."

"Yeah, we have proven our worth to this bureau several times over." Iris said and walked to stand by her teammate.

Nigel gave them a cold stare before turning his attention back to LabRat. "Please sir, give us this mission. Me and Norm can have this case closed before sundown."

"Sorry Nigel, I already gave it to Ray and his team." LabRat said.

"You will regret this when they fail and you can't take your decision back." Nigel stated, turned on his heels and walked towards the exit.

"Sorry for that. He usually isn't that um…"

"Bullheaded." Creepy-Crawly quipped.

"I was gonna say frustrated. He takes things seriously." Norman said and handed Ray a pager. "Here, call us if you need any help out there."

Ray looked at the pager with disgust. "We won't need any help." He spat and tossed the pager behind his back.

Norman was taken aback by this, looking nervous. "Okay…see yah." He walked to the exit where Nigel had been waiting for his partner and they left the gaglab together.

"That was harsh." Zoey said, eyeing her cousin.

"I always hate it when people underestimates me." Ray stated. "Come on, we have a gland-mystery to solve." Ray ran out of the gaglab and the rest followed him but Iris stopped just before she reached the door. She walked back and picked up the pager.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Was that BJ joke too dirty for this series? Yeah, probably but I can't help myself sometimes. The censors can't cage me!  
So in this chapter we meet Nigel & Norman, the senior Grossologists. There is actually a bit of history to the character of Nigel. Originally when Nelvana was pitching ideas for a Grossology TV-show there where actually supposed to be three Grossologists, Ty, Abby and their friend Nigel Stodding but for some reason they decided to ditch him. There is also a character in the original books by Sylvia Branzei named Nigel Nose-It-All (get it?) who was this weird character with a crane for a nose. Anyway, I created Nigel & Norman to make the bureau look a little bigger and hopefully I can give them a little bit of character development. I based their personalities on Simon Pegg's & Nick Frost's characters from the movie **_**Hot Fuzz.**_ **I love that movie. I must have seen it like 50 times already and I have yet to grow bored with it.  
This chapter also introduces Ruby but think I will wait on explaining her till she gets a bigger role.  
This chapter also answers how the Grossologists gets to the gaglab so fast. Inbuilt teleportation devices in their lockers. It's probably not the case for the original series (although who could tell?) but in this future the gaglab is pretty far away from their school (the school have changed locale in this future) so they need a way to get from point A to B relatively easy.  
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please leave a review. **


	16. Goiter Destroyer (Part 2)

**Episode 5: Goiter Destroyer (Part 2)**

Ringworm City's soccer team, the Pill Bugs was training in town's stadium. Ray, Zoey, Iris and Creepy-Crawly was looking on from behind the bleachers.

"So, why are we hiding behind the bleachers instead of you know, sitting on them like any normal people?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"It's more fun like this." Ray replied before turning to the soccer team at training.

A soccer ball had been placed on the ground. One player, fat as a pig kicked it towards the goal but it was so weak, the ball really just rolled across the grass and came to a stop before it even reached the goalie who in response scratched his head in confusion. The fat player thou sighed and looked depressed to the ground.

"Wait, isn't that Cal Tarsal? Isn't he like a star player?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah it is. Man, he gotten out of shape." Creepy-Crawly said.

"And so has many top athletes lately." Ray stated before turning to Iris." "You still got your chemical receptors?"

"Of course."

"Good, scan these players. See if something is fishy with their thyroid-glands." Ray explained.

"Alright." Iris said and scanned the soccer players. "Okay, so according to my medical scanners these men's thyroid-glands are…100% healthy but strangely some of them have much less Triiodothronine in their bodies than average."

"Those would be the ones with Hypotyroid symptoms, right?" Ray asked.

"Correct." Iris nodded.

"So someone or something has reduced their hormones without affecting their glands? Weird." Zoey exclaimed.

"Alright Grossologists, spread out and look for clues." Ray said and ran off. Iris smiled and ran after.

"What are we? The freaken Scooby-Doo gang?" Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

* * *

Meanwhile, indoors. One of the Pill Bugs players were drinking from his water bottle.

"Excuse me." He looked down and saw Ruby, standing there with an innocent smile, her hands held behind her back and something that looked like a camera hanging from her neck. She also wore a white lab coat over her usual attire. Judging by how lazily the pockets had been sown on it seemed like the lab coat was home made.

He raised an eyebrow. "Um, are you supposed to be here?"

"No but I'm a photographer from Ringworm High's sports paper and I just wondered if you could just pose for a picture for a second." Ruby said.

"I guess."

"Alright. Can you take a step back?" Ruby asked and the soccer player did just so. "Can you do this with your hands?" She asked and made a horn-sign with her hand.

"No."

"Can you do this?" Ruby made a peace-sign with her hand.

"No."

"Can you do this?" She made a heart with her hands.

"Aww…no."

"How about this?" She asked and gave him the middle finger.

"You little bastard!" He shouted, eyes flaming with anger. Smirking, Ruby took a picture. The strong light blinded him for a few seconds and when he opened his eyes again the only thing left of Ruby was the echo of her laughter.

Ruby ran thru the corridor, laughing like if she had been huffing nitruos oxide. She ran into a janitor's closet. She leaned against the wall and slowly slumped down to the floor, clutching her gut as she kept laughing. "If that wasn't classic, it certainly should be." She said before continuing laughing.

She then heard voices talking. She rose to her feet and looked thru the small window on the door. It was Ray & Iris but she did not recognize them thou to their uniforms. Ruby gasped. She pulled out her cellphone. "Dad, the grossolo-

"Honey, I told you. When we are on mission use the gall-phone." The voice on the other end barked. Ruby sighed and hung up. She stuff her phone back into her pocket and pulled out the gall-phone which was like a normal cellphone except it looked like a gallbladder. She phoned her dad again. "That's better." Was the first thing her dad said.

"Dad, the Grossologists are here. The junior ones." Ruby said.

"Oh that's great! A confrontation with the Grossologists might even earn me a spot in the next issue of _Supreme_ _Villainy Monthly."_ Her dad exclaimed excited.

"Okay, what should I do?" Ruby asked.

"Have they seen you yet?"

"No."

"Good. Tell them you will help them. Get them out on the football field where I can ambush them." He explained.

"Soccer field." Ruby corrected.

Her dad was silent for a while. "Just do as I say!" He shouted before hanging up.

"Geez, don't have a cow dad." Ruby muttered before stuffing her gall-phone back into her pocket.

* * *

"So, Ray. Can I ask you something?" Iris asked while the two walked thru the corridor.

"You just did." Ray joked.

"Okay." Iris said with a soft giggle. "Why did you decline Norman's offer to help us?"

"It irritated me that those stuck-up senior Grossologists thinks we are too green to be of use." Ray answered, almost growling the words. "So now we need to prove to them that we can fight grime-crimes just as good as them or better, preferable better. It's a pride thing."

"Hmm." Iris looked down at the floor. "I guess there is still some parts of human behavior I still don't have the hang on. Why do we need to prove them wrong again?"

Ray was about to answer when Ruby suddenly jumped in front of them. "Hey." Ray & Iris got so startled they drew their goopshooters at her (or gauntlet in Ray's case). "Please don't shoot me, I haven't done anything yet." Ruby pleaded panicky.

"Wait, I know you." Ray stated and the two Grossologists took down their weapons. "You are Ruby."

"How do you know my name, strangely cute and familiar boy in latex?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.

"Um…" Ray mentally slapped his face. "I-I-I recognized you from um the-the

"My schools newspaper?" Ruby suggested.

"Exactly." Ray stated. "What are you doing here?"

"The same thing as you Grossologists I guess. I am here trying to find the source for the Hypothyroidism epidemic." Ruby replied. "Is there more agents here?"

"Yes, two more but you really shouldn't be investigating this. It could be dangerous." Iris said.

"But I have found clues as to what is going on." Ruby said with a proud smile. "Come with me to the field and I'll show you."

Ray and Iris exchanged confused looks.

* * *

A few minutes later, the team gathered on the soccer field along with Ruby. "Okay Ruby, we are here. What do you have to show us?" Ray asked.

"Um, it will arrive here soon." Ruby exclaimed with a nervous smile.

"Arrive soon? What kind of clues just walks up to you?" Ray asked irritated.

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms and sneered. "Am I the only one that find it incredible suspicious that Ruby is here, in a weird mad-science getup just as all this craziness is going on?"

"Go stick your head in a bug zapper, Creepy!" Ruby barked. "By the way, it was my dad that insisted that I wear this."

"Your dad? You told us you were for the school's newspaper." Ray exclaimed.

Zoey now crossed her arms. "Last I checked you were not part of the newspaper team."

Everyone now glared at Ruby with distrustful eyes. Ruby clenched her teeth, looking nervous and feeling cornered. "Awe, come on guys. I am here to find out what is going on, just like you." She exclaimed with a nervous giggle.

"Can I see your camera?" Iris asked.

"What? No!" Ruby replied. Quick as a cat, Creepy-Crawly snatched Ruby's camera and tossed it to Iris. Ruby scowled at the Goth Grossologist.

Iris studied the camera with her x-ray. "This is no camera. It's some sort of-of, I don't really know what but it's filled with Tyrosine, the main amino acid in Triiodothyronine." The android exclaimed and everyone looked at Ruby.

Ruby stiffen. Her eyes darted from one Grossologist to another. Realizing that the jigs was up. "There is a logical explanation for this." She said just before kicking Iris in the gut. The camera fell out of the android's hands and she fell to the ground. Ruby ran as fast as she could and threw herself over her camera.

Zoey jumped at her, pinning her to the ground with a headlock. Even thou Ruby's arms where mostly immobilized she still managed to turn her camera at her attacker and clicked it. The flash hurt Zoey's eyes and Ruby managed to free herself and run away.

"Don't let her get away." Ray exclaimed. Then a round shadow passed them overhead and hosed green slime at the Grossologists which glued them to the ground.

"The heck. What is happening?" Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

A circular hovercraft touched down on the grassy field. It looked like it was made from a really large tractor tier with a rotor-blade underneath and rocket boosters at the back.

A man jumped out of the hovercraft. He was tall & slim. His costume was half black and half yellow with a large B on his chest and a long cape fluttered from his shoulders. Most striking thou was his skin. It was completely yellow. The white of his eyes were also yellow. He smirked and placed his fist on his waist.

"Feel honored Grossologists. You have just been trapped by the most deliciously evil villain in the history of evil villainy." The yellow man said in a most theatrical fashion. "I am Dr. Bile!"

Ruby then ran to his side and got into the same fists-on-waist stance. "And I am his trustful sidekick, Ruby!"

" _That's good honey. Now be quiet, this is daddy's moment."_ Dr. Bile mumbled. Abruptly, Creepy-Crawly burst out laughing and soon her teammates joined her in the laughter. Dr. Bile grew a long face. "Hey, stop laughing you ingrates!" He shouted at them.

"Sorry but you just looks so funny. You're yellow all over and you have a giant B on your shirt. You look like your name should be Captain Banana." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed while still laughing.

Dr. Bile got so angry his eye twitched. "YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO FEAR ME!"

"Okay, do you wanna explain your evil plan to us or something?" Ray asked sarcastically.

"Yes, I spread Hypothyroidism with these." Dr. Bile stated and he and his daughter showed them their cameras. Ruby's camera looked like digital camera and Dr. Bile's looked like a really old folding camera.

Creepy-Crawly raised an eyebrow. "Cameras?"

"I call them Tyrosine Suckers." Dr. Bile replied. "They suck out all-

"Okay thank you. We won't need more than that." Ray interrupted. "Zoey."

Zoey snapped her fingers and the slime that glued them to the ground rotted away. The grossologists readied themselves for battle.

"She can rot things?" Dr. Bile was really surprised. "Can you do that, Ruby?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. "No dad, not all girls have the power of decay." She gripped her camera bit firmer. "Let's just flash them…with our cameras I mean."

Iris's transformed her hands into magnets which tore the Tyrosine suckers out of their owners' hands. Ray fired his gauntlet and a powerful blast of goop hit Dr. Bile, pasting him to his hovercraft.

"This is going way too easy." Zoey commented.

"Surrender now Ruby and the law will be lenient." Ray exclaimed. Ruby grit her teeth before jumping into the hovercraft and turned it on. "Grossologists, stop her!" Ray ordered before shooting a sling of web at the hovercraft but once its rocket boosters started they burned off the webbing and it took to the sky with Dr. Bile still glued to its side.

Iris & Creepy-Crawly quickly took off after the villains. The wings on Ray's jetpack ejected. "You want a lift Zoey?" He turned to his cousin and first now he saw that something was very wrong.

Zoey was trembling and clutching her stomach. "Ray, I am not feeling very good." She groaned before falling to his knees. Then her body swelled, her cheeks, limbs and stomach filled with fat. That was when Ray remembered that Zoey had been hit with Ruby's Tyrosine Sucker. Then from underneath Zoey, rot started spreading over the soccer field till all the grass was dead.

Concerned for his cousin, Ray ran up to her but he stopped himself in the last second. Remembering that if Zoey's powers where out of control she could accidentally hurt him as well. "Iris! Iris, please help!" He shouted.

Iris stopped pursuing the hovercraft and turned back. Seeing Zoey in such a poor state made her very concerned. She landed next to Zoey and picked her up in her arms. Since she was made of metal, Zoey's powers couldn't hurt her. "Her hormone levels are in serious flux."

"We need to get her back to the gaglab." Ray exclaimed.

Creepy-Crawly flew over them. "Ray, the bad guys are getting away."

"Zoey's health take precedence over capturing the bad guys CC. We take care of each other before we take care of our enemies." Ray said without hesitation.

* * *

Later in the gaglab.

Zoey carefully knocked on the glass of the quarantine room she'd been placed in. "Guys, I think I am okay know. My powers are not crazy anymore."

"If you say so Zoey." LabRat said. He rolled his wheelchair over to a panel by the quarantine room and typed in a code. The door opened and Zoey walked out. Her teammates where there, looking at her with concerned eyes.

She had always prided herself on being physically fit (well, _prided herself_ might not be too strong of a phrase since she didn't have a big enough ego to have pride). She was a black-belter in several forms of martial arts and had trained self-defense with her mom for as long as she could remember but now she was so fat her slimesuit almost ripped apart.

"Can I give you something Zoey?" Iris asked.

"No thanks, Iris. I am fine, I mean except for all the fat clogging my bloodstream." Zoey replied with a sad laughter but it did nothing to rise the mood.

"What was up with your powers?" Ray asked.

Zoey sat down in a chair and shrugged. "I think it was my hormone imbalance. My powers are very much tied to my emotions and my hormones."

Nigel & Norman entered the gaglab. "I hate to say 'what was it I said' so I won't." Nigel exclaimed.

"Good because it would be really crummy of you." Ray snapped at him.

Nigel ignored Ray and turned to LabRat. "You send a bunch of kids to do an adult's job and now one of them is sick. Maybe now you want to put us on the mission?"

Creepy-Crawly leaned to Iris. _"Say what you want about his personality, Nigel has moxy."_

"Well, despite our misfortunes, the junior Grossologists weren't entirely unsuccessful." LabRat answered and rolled over to a worktable where the Tyrosine Suckers laid. They had been taken apart. "They got me these Tyrosine Suckers. If I can re-engineer them I can cure Zoey and everyone else with Hypothyroidism and it should be relatively easy."

"Yeah, while you do that my team will capture Dr. Bile." Ray exclaimed, shooting a smirk in Nigel's direction.

"How will we ever be able to do that? It is hopeless. I will be fat and ugly forever." Zoey lamented.

Everyone stared surprised at her. "Zoey, that's an awfully pessimistic thing to say." Ray stated.

"Yeah, it almost sounded like something I would say." Creepy-Crawly said.

Zoey shrugged. "It's just how I feel."

"It's the Hypothyroidism. Depression is another symptom of the condition." LabRat explained.

"Well, I can assure you Zoey that we will solve all of this because I have Ruby's phone number." Ray exclaimed.

"How did you get that?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"Because Ray is a real girl-charmer." Iris exclaimed.

Ray blushed immensely and got completely tong tied for a moment. "Well, um, anyway. All I have to do is send her an SMS and then we can track the signal." He explained and typed out a message on his Grossometer.

"Stick it here Ray." Iris exclaimed and a small hatchet opened on her forehead. Ray placed his grossometer in the hatchet. Iris closed the hatchet and her eyes started glowing with flashing colors as she analyzed it.

Nigel scowled and crossed his arms. "As if a criminal would actually carry her usual cellphone on a job."

Iris's eyes stopped flashing, indicating her analysis was done. "Done. I know where they are. They are at Ringworm's Television station."

Norman gasped. "If they connect the Tyrosine Suckers to their live feeds they can spread Hypothyroidism to the entire city."

"I have to warn them over at the TV-station." LabRat said and grabbed a phone on the table. He quickly called the TV-station. "Hello, hello." Without getting an answer he hung up. "No signal. Something must be wrong over there."

Nigel took a step forward. "Please sir, I urge you to send me and Norman to take care of it. We can deal with this much better than the Junior Grossologists can."

"Sorry Nigel but that would be difficult." LabRat replied.

Nigel got confused. "Why?"

"Cause they already left."

Nigel turned only junior Grossologist left was fat little Zoey sitting in her chair. She smiled innocently and waved at him.

"You really don't know how to communicate with kids, do you partner?" Norman stated.

Nigel sighed tiered.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Awww, poor Zoey. I guess it's like father like daughter with bad luck.  
So this chapter introduces a new villain, Dr. Bile. I mostly base Dr. Bile on the villainous **_**Smarty Smarts**_ **from the show** _ **Spliced**_ **(which was made by the same people that made Grossology). Like Smarty Smarts Dr. Bile is not to be taken seriously. He is meant to be a parody on the typical supervillain and he is pretty incompetent were it not for his sidekick Ruby. Of course, Smarty Smarts also had a sidekick, Octokitty but their relationship where romantic which I didn't really want to do so I made Ruby his daughter instead.  
I made a drawing of Dr. Bile & Ruby on DeviantArt for anyone that want some visuals (I am JokerCarnage5 on DeviantArt too).  
We wrap up this episode in the next chapter. **


	17. Goiter Destroyer (Part 3)

**Episode 5: Goiter Destroyer (Part 3)**

"I demand ten million dollars, an apache helicopter and the key to the city. I have no idea what the key to the city is, if it's just a metaphor for something or if you can actually do something with it but I want it. And if my demands are not met within the hour mister Mayor I will cause even more Hypothyroidism and you know I'm not bluffing." Dr. Bile explained in front of a video camera that Ruby was operating. "Okay, cut. So what do you think Ruby? Wasn't I menacing?"

"Sure dad, the mayor will piss himself." Ruby sarcastically replied.

Dr. Bile smirked and placed his fists on his hips. "I feel unnaturally good today. Everything is going our way."

"Yeah, all we needed to do was blow-up a bomb of sleeping gas in the ventilation and everyone in the station got knocked out." Ruby said and gingerly jumped over a slumbering man on the floor. "But there is something I have to ask you dad. Why are we even doing this?"

Dr. Bile sighed before placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Ruby, I think it is time for me to tell you my backstory."

"You tell it to me every other week dad. I think you have a victim complex." Ruby stated.

"When I was young I suffered from Jaundice. A symptom from having too much bilirubin in the blood. It gave me yellow skin and yellow eyes. I could of course have gone to a doctor but since when have a doctor ever been able to help anyone? People called me crazy for trying to cure myself but I did it, I managed to lower the bilirubin in my blood but sadly the symptoms remained. I was cursed with permanent Jaundice. People ridiculed me for my looks."

"Which people dad?"

"Don't interrupt honey. I decided to turn my life to villainy and make everyone else as gross as me!"

"So…why don't we give people Jaundice instead of Hypothyroidism?" Ruby asked puzzled.

"Oh, oh yeah we could have done that instead. Seems a lot more fitting now when you are saying it." Dr. Bile exclaimed bewildered. He then looked down and scratched his neck. "Now I feel a bit stupid."

"Really? Now you feel stupid?" Ruby said dryly.

Dr. Bile shook his head. "Forget it. We are seeing this evil scheme thru to end anyway. Did you hook the Mega Tyrosine Sucker up to the mainframe?"

"Yep."

"Good, now I will be able to spread Hypothyroidism thru every single live feed in the city." Dr. Bile exclaimed while looking over a wall filled of television screens that showed every live transmission. "Maybe we should do a test run. I have always hated those model shows." He said as he studied said show on one of the screens.

"Here is the remote dad." Ruby said with a cute smile and handed him a TV-remote, of course it was no normal remote. It was the remote to their Mega Tyrosine Sucker.

"Ohoh, I'm getting giddy." Dr. Bile giggled and turned the remote to the TV-screen with the model show. He pushed the button and … nothing happened. Dr. Bile frowned and arched an eyebrow. He clicked the remote several times more at several different TV-screen and nothing happened to the people on screen. "Why isn't anything happening? Shouldn't something happen? You must have done something wrong!"

"Don't yell at me, I didn't do anything wrong." Ruby snapped at him. Dr. Bile kept clicking the remote frenetically. Then something happened. All TV-screens changed to an image if Iris.

The android smiled. "Hello Bad Guys! You just got trolled." She exclaimed jolly before sticking out her tong.

"We have been found." Dr. Bile exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Not only that Bile," Bile and Ruby turned around and saw Ray, Creepy-Crawly & Iris, "you are also outmatched." Ray said.

"You have no idea how long he had us hide in the background for a moment to make a cool entrance." Creepy-Crawly stated dryly.

"Hey how can the Grossologist in blue be over there when she is also on the TV?" Dr. Bile asked puzzled. "Aw, now I get it. It's prerecorded. Silly me."

"You will pay for what you did to my cousin you yellow nutcase!" Ray exclaimed and ran towards Dr. Bile, followed by his teammates. Dr. Bile thou smirked and pressed a button on the wall. A glass cube quickly lowered down from the ceiling and entrapped the Grossologists.

Creepy-Crawly hit her head against the glass wall. "Ouch." She rubbed her sore forehead.

Dr. Bile jumped in happiness. "Yahoo, I did it! I captured the Grossologists. I am the greatest bad guy this town as ever seen."

"Is it me or has we gone into a lot of traps lately?" Iris exclaimed.

Ray ran up to a small window in the glass cube, barely large enough for a cat. "LET US OUT OF HERE!" He shouted.

Dr. Bile skipped over to them. "Do you like my trap? I found it here. I guess it was part of some game show hosted here. I just modified it a bit to make it more _Grossologist friendly_."

"I like it cause it'll be easy to get out of here and kick your yellow ass!" Ray stated angrily.

"Okay but before you do that, let me immortalize this moment." Dr. Bile grabbed what looked like a large film camera. "Smile for the camera."

"NO!" Creepie-Crawly cried just before Dr. Bile flashed them with the Tyrosine sucker. Creepy-Crawly's throat grew a disgusting goiter. Ray's face became red and puffy. His goggles fell off and Ruby saw who he really was. First she gasped but then she smirked mischievously.

Dr. Bile laughed manically until he realized Iris hadn't been affected. "Hey, why haven't you changed?"

Iris shrugged. "Well, I do feel kinda cool."

"Hu, I thought it was because you were a robot or something." Dr. Bile said. "Guess I was wrong."

" _I will make you pay for this, Bile. I'll rip your eyes out and stick them up your ass!"_ Creepy-Crawly hissed thru a very sore throat.

"What was that? I couldn't quite hear you. You got something in your throat." Dr. Bile mocked before laughing at them.

"So dad, why don't you go fix the Tyrosine Sucker for the live feed? I can guard the prisoners for you." Ruby said with an innocent smile and her hands behind her back.

"Thank you sweetie." Dr. Bile said and patted Ruby's head. "I feel so good today. Once this is over I will treat you to Burger Lord." He said while walking away. Once he was gone, Ruby turned to the trapped Grossologists.

Inside the glass cube, the Grossologists was trying to come up with ways to escape. "CC, spit your acid on the wall." Ray ordered.

Creepy-Crawly tried but all she did was caught. Some drops of acid escaped her mouth and simmered on the floor. _"Sorry, the goiter has messed up everything from my shoulder up."_ She hissed.

"Nah, your hair still looks nice." Iris commented.

"Iris, do you have any ideas on how to get out of here?" Ray asked.

Iris opened up a small hatchet it her chest and pulled out Norman's pager. "We can call for help."

Ray pouted. "No way. I will not call those snobs for help. We just need to think outside the box."

"Speaking of…"

Ray turned and saw Ruby, leaning against a small window of the glass wall. She had a seductive grin on her face. "Hey Ray."

Ray was shocked. "Ray? I am not Ray. I am, um….Roy. Yep, I am Roy Ar-Armer."

"No, you are Ray. I recognize you from school." Ruby stated matter-of-factly. "And that means that they are Iris and CC and the one in yellow was Zoey. No wonder you four always stick together."

Ray sighed in defeat. "Okay you found us out but you have to help us out of here."

"Why?" Ruby chirped.

"Because your dad will hurt all those people." Ray exclaimed.

"But it's one of the few pleasures he has in life." Ruby stated, tilting her head a bit.

"That is no excuse. We have to do what's right."

"Well, I could be persuaded to let you out if you do something for me." A sinister smirk grew across Ruby's face.

"What would that be?" Ray asked puzzled.

"Kiss me."

Ray blinked confused. Iris just stared in disbelief and Creepy-Crawly managed to giggle a bit. "WHAT!" Ray exclaimed.

"Double what?" Iris said.

"Why would I kiss you and why would you want me to?" Ray asked puzzled.

Ruby lowered her head, shy. "Well, you see, I haven't had my first kiss yet and I have always thought you were really cute. Even now when your face is all red and puffy you're the cutest guy I know."

If Ray's face hadn't been red already from the Hypothyroidism, it would be from blushing. "Wow, thanks. Sad that I think you are a total nutjob."

"I just want a little kiss, then I let you guys out of the trap and you can do all those heroic things you do." Ruby suggested.

"Fine, just a small peck." Ray reluctantly agreed.

"On the lips." Ruby stated, smirking.

Ray sighed and rolled his eyes. _'Can't believe I'm doing this.'_ He closed his eyes and leaned into the small window. Ruby rose on her toes and their lips pressed against each other. She wrapped her arms around his head to deepen the kiss.

Iris leaned over to Creepy-Crawly. _"I don't have a stomach so why do I feel like purging?"_

Ruby & Ray's kiss ended. "That was magical." Ruby happily sighed. Ray gagged in disgust.

" _Great for you. Will you let us out now?"_ Creepy-Crawly asked irritated with a still sore throat.

Ruby placed an index finger on her shin and pondered. "Nope."

"WHAT?" All three grossologists exclaimed confused.

"But you promised." Ray said.

"Well, what did you expect? After all, I am evil?" Ruby laughed maniacally as she walked away. She grabbed a teen magazine and sat down in a chair.

Ray could feel his blood boiling. His teeth grit and his fists clenched.

"Well, that plan certainly didn't work." Iris commented.

"THAT'S IT!" Ray shouted in an almost explosive manner. "Iris, contact the Senior Grossologists."

Iris turned on the pager. "Hey Norman, we are a bit in a jam here."

"What happened?" Norman asked thru the pager.

"We are trapped in a class cube and CC & Ray has hypothyroidism. We need your help."

"We'll be there any minute, Iris. Over and out." Norman hung up.

"Great, now I will have to hear Nigel lecturing us on how useless we are," Ray lamented, "but it will be worth it if it means stopping Ruby and her lemon daddy."

Creepy-Crawly smirked a bit. _"I like it when you get vindictive like that."_

* * *

A dark vehicle flew thru the sky. It was carried by insect wings and turbo-jets with heavy tiers underneath. It was like a tank version of the Ty-Mobile. Flying it was Nigel and Norman.

"Computer, give me the schematics over the television station." Nigel ordered and the control board's computer gave him the blueprints. "Okay so this is the plan Norm, we enter the building thru the roof. There should be a door there which should be easy to pock. Then we separate. You go save the Junior Grossologists in the news room while I capture Dr. Bile."

"Sure you don't want any backup?" Norman asked.

"What? No." Nigel replied. "Bile is a c-lister. He is probably one of those villains that taps fingers together whenever he's planning something."

* * *

Dr. Bile was taping his fingers together. He chuckled evilly. "I think I will order Pizza for dinner. Mwhahahahahahahah!"

* * *

"You just worry about getting Iris and the others out of there. I don't want to imagine what kind of horrible torture they are being subjected to." Nigel said.

* * *

"Now we return to The Bachelorette."

"NO!" Creepy-Crawly shouted and covered her ears.

Ruby had changed all the channels on the dozens of television screens on the wall to a channel with a bachelorette challenge. While the Grossologists in the cube was suffering, Ruby was crying tears in joy and clasping her hands while the girl on the show handed out the last rose of the evening.

"Awe, I love bachelorette shows. They are so romantic." Ruby said.

"Please Ruby, no more of these awful television shows. It's inhumane." Ray pleaded.

"Yeah, you're right. This getting a little irksome." Ruby admitted. She then smirked wickedly. "Let's watch the Disney Chanel." She changed all the televisions to said family programming.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL US ALREADY!?" Creepy-Crawly screamed.

Norman sneaked into the room. After assessing the situation he managed to sneak over to the trapped Grossologists. Ruby was too busy watching the television screens to notice. _"Hey guys."_ Norman whispered to them.

"Norman." Iris exclaimed and the Grossologists gathered around him.

" _Don't worry, I have you out in a moment."_ He took out a small electronic circle saw and pressed it against the glass wall. He carefully cut out a half-round hole, large enough for the Grossologists to crawl thru. "The Grossologist Diamond Cutter. Never go anywhere without it."

Iris was the last one in the cube. She was about to crawl out when Ray stopped her. "Wait Iris, I need you to create a diversion for Ruby."

"How do I do that?" Iris asked, blinking puzzled.

Ray shrugged. "Do something that will make her mad."

Ruby relaxed in her chair, snacking on some corn chips while watching the Disney Channel (in stereo). "Never tell my dad but…I enjoy being evil."

"Hey, Ruby!" Iris shouted and the red-head turned to the Grossologist. Iris took a hold of Ray's face and pressed her lips against his. Ray eased into the kiss and wrapped his arms around his robotic teammate.

Ruby's eyes struck open in surprise. "Hey," She stood up and started walking towards them, "get off my man lady or I will rebuild you into a toilet." She exclaimed angrily but then she got confused. "Wait, why isn't Ray's face red and gross anymore?"

Suddenly Ray, the real Ray flew overhead and fired his Gross-Gauntlet at Ruby, tying up her arms and body.

"Hey!" Ruby shrieked and fell against the wall of the glass cube. Then Norman jumped in front of her and plastered her to the wall by shooting his goopshooter at her. "Get this goo off of me, cretins!"

"Man, my hologram projector really is useful." Iris turned off the hologram of her and Ray and joined her teammates outside the cube.

Norman smiled. "Well I was about to ask if you guys are still healthy enough to continue the mission but you seem capable."

" _Oh, I'm more than capable. When I'll find Dr. Bile I will turn his skin from yellow to blue."_ Creepy-Crawly hissed and punched her hand to clarify the point.

* * *

"You ruined my Mega Tyrosine Sucker!" Dr. Bile exclaimed as he ran thru a corridor, being followed by Nigel.

"Then maybe giving up would be a good idea." Nigel stated and fired his goopshooter but Dr. Bile managed to duck it. Dr. Bile then ran into what seemed like a studio for talk shows. Audience seats leading down to a stage.

Dr. Bile started running down the stairs but tripped on his own cape and clumsily tumbled down all the way down to the stage. "So that is why no other supervillain wears capes."

Nigel stopped about six feet away from him and aimed his goopshooter at Dr. Bile. "Okay Bile, it's time to end this farce. You got nothing left."

"Oh, really?" Dr. Bile giggled and pulled out another remote. "It's Showtime." He pressed down on a button and the cameras in the room turned on and directed at Nigel.

Nigel shut his eyes due to the sudden light. "What is this?"

Dr. Bile snickered and scurried to his feet.

Nigel then could feel his knees and arms hurt. He started trembling and his goopshooter dropped to the floor. He feel to the floor the moment his limbs and stomach swelled. "What did you do to me?"

"You arrogant moron. Is there honestly a better place to hide camera-looking weapons in than in a television studio? I hide a couple of Tyrosine-Suckers here and there in this building just in case would have to deal with people like you." Dr. Bile turned off the Tyrosine Suckers before walking up to the Grossologist with an elegant swanker in his steps. He smiled down at Nigel. "You know, I think it was my dad that told me not to kick people when they're down." He kicked Nigel hard in the gut. "I'm still wondering why."

* * *

As Dr. Bile kept kicking Nigel, Norman and the Junior Grossologists stood atop a rafter, looking down on the conflict. "Nigel. I have to save him." Norman said and started running but Ray grabbed his shirt.

"Norm, wait. If we just go down there we will just go into another trap." He turned to his teammates. "Iris, find the control room and shut down all cameras."

"I'm on it." Iris gave a thumb up and flew away.

"Creepy, you and I will keep Dr. Bile busy." Ray said.

Creepy-Crawly smirked and maliciously stroked the goiter in her croak.

* * *

Dr. Bile stepped away from Nigel again and once again used the Tyrosine Suckers. "You know, Hypothyroidism is a funny little disease. Everyone reacts differently to it." Dr. Bile exclaimed as hair started falling off Nigel's head. "You never know what you're gonna get."

"Hey, Captain Banana!" Dr. Bile turned towards the voice. It was Ray on the rafter, standing next to a spotlight lamp. "See the light." He turned on the light. The strong light blinded Dr. Bile. When he tried to open his eyes he saw the silhouette of what seemed like a large flying insect coming towards him. Then he felt Creepy-Crawly's fist collide with his face. Dr. Bile fell backwards into Nigel as the Grossologist had tried to get up, knocking him out of place and landed right in aim for the Tyrosine Suckers.

"…that was the worst mosquito bite I ever felt." Dr. Bile grumbled. Then he felt the effect of Hypothyroidism. A goiter grew out in the croak of his neck and he felt really cold. "Who turned down the thermostat?" He whined and wrapped his cape around him like a blanket.

Norman helped Nigel onto his feet. "Are, you okay partner?"

"Do I look okay?" Nigel scowled.

Iris flew into the room. "I managed to turn off all the cameras but I guess it wasn't necessary." She said when she looked over the situation. "So, the day is saved, the bad guys are defeated and Ray got to kiss a girl. I would call that a successful mission." Iris exclaimed proudly. Ray blushed and frowned at that remark.

"Except all of us except for you and Norman has Hypothyroidism!" Nigel barked angrily before coughing.

"Not for long, Nigel." Zoey said as she walked into the room, except now she was her usual fit self. In her hands she held what looked like a camera.

"Zoey, you are not fat anymore." Ray exclaimed happily.

"And you seem to chare your cousin's knack for dramatic entrances." Creepy-Crawly stated. "Seriously, how long did you wait for good moment to show up?"

Zoey ignored her friend's sarcasm. "LabRat re-engineered one of the Tyrosine Suckers. Now it takes away Hypothyroidism instead of spreading it. So gather around everyone for a group photo." She said.

Ray, Iris, Creepy-Crawly, Norman and Nigel gathered in front of Zoey. Nigel leaned on Ray for support and Norman had lifted the wrapped-up Dr. Bile on his shoulder like a bundle. Creepy-Crawly and Iris laid their arms on the other's shoulders and grinned at the camera.

In Zoey's camera view they were a pretty sad lot, all with various symptoms of Hypothyroidism but after she took the picture the image showed a pretty happy bunch of heroes. They were all cured. Even Nigel stood up straight with a smile on his lips and a hand on Ray's shoulder. The only distraught one was Dr. Bile.

"So here you come to save us and we end up saving you. How about that?" Ray exclaimed to Nigel.

"We did not have to be here in the first place if you hadn't been captured." Nigel scolded. Ray frowned irritated at the more experienced Grossologist. Then, Nigel smiled a bit. "But I was impressed with how you handled Dr. Bile and kept everyone safe. You really are your father's son. Don't get me wrong, I still think you kids should stay out of these kind of things but for now I am grateful you were here." He said and reached out a hand. Ray smiled and shook Nigel's hand.

* * *

The next day at school. Hugo, NJ and Candice were standing in the corridor. Candice and NJ looked like their normal selves. Yesterday, LabRat had cured everyone of hypothyroidism by hooking up the reversed-engineered Tyrosine sucker to a signal tower. Its healing effect had spread all over the city.

Hugo checked out his face in the reflection of his cellphone screen. He then sang;  
"I am the very model of a modern Major-general.  
I've information vegetable, animal and mineral.  
I know the kings of England and I quote the fights historical."

"Seem like my tong is back to normal." Hugo stated.

"Good, now is your time to use it on someone." NJ said smirking.

"What do you-

"Hey." Zoey said from behind which startled Hugo that shrieked a bit. "Whops, sorry Hugo. Did not mean to scare you."

"No, I wasn't scared." Hugo said embarrassed. "Um, so everyone seem well now."

"Good to see." Zoey exclaimed.

Then Molina and Rachel walked by, they were also back in their usual forms and clothing. "I am so relieved I no longer feel so cold. A girl should never have to wear more clothes than this." Rachel said to her Latin friend.

"Can we negotiate down that?" NJ called out to them. The two popular girls stopped to look at them. Rachel frowned while Molina smirked.

"Hey Zoey Archer." Molina greeted.

"Molina, you look like your usual self." Zoey said politely.

"And you somehow look both plain and freaky. How do you do it?" Molina mocked and Rachel laughed at her friend's insult.

"Good one Molina." Rachel complimented and the two popular girls left.

Zoey sighed. "Yep, everything is back to normal."

* * *

Meanwhile, Iris and Ray walked up the stairs to the school entrance. Ray scratched his neck, shyly. "So Iris, about your hologram and my hologram kissing…"

"Oh Ray. It was just a lightshow. I hope I didn't embarrass you or make you uncomfortable."

"Oh, please. After having to kiss _Ruby the fruity_ I don't think I will ever be embarrassed ever again." Ray said as he opened the door and the two gasped. On almost every locker was a picture of Ruby and Ray kissing. Thankfully the picture did not show any of Ray's slimesuit. "I stand corrected."

"Boyfriend!" Ruby jumped seemingly out of nowhere and hugged Ray.

"Ruby! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in jail or at least in juvie?"

"No, silly. My dad took all the blame for that so now you and I can be together." Ruby replied with an ear to ear grin.

"Well, that doesn't seem too good to me. I don't like you. In fact everything about you makes me shiver in disgust." Ray exclaimed.

"Well, all relationships have their hurdles. Ours will be that you can't stand me." Ruby said, still smiling. "Our first date is after school. I sent you all the details on Slimebook. Don't be late or I'll do something crazy and you know I mean it. See you handsome." She walked away with a flirty smirk.

"YOU ARE NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Ray shouted at her but by this time Ruby was already gone. Ray Archer sighed. "My social existence is over."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So this was not the best episode I written but I still think it's better than** _ **Reptilian Pain.**_ **I hope you guys enjoyed this episode none the less and that you leave a review for me.**


	18. Jaws of the Worm (Part 1)

**Episode 6: Jaws of the Worm (Part 1)**

The moon settled over the ocean shore and inside a small hut, an old man was getting ready to go fishing. He attached his prosthetic hand onto his wrist, grabbed his fishing gear and bucket of bait before heading out. The moment he walked out he could hear the cheers of teenagers. Over the sandbank he could see lights and teens drinking and talking way lauder than necessary. As annoying as it was he knew that this was just the pre-party. The _real_ party would start tomorrow night which would be the first night of spring break.

The old man grumbled under his breath. _"…darn, up nosed…noisy…scarin the fish…"_ When he turned to close the door he saw that someone had spray painted on it. _Seen any monsters lately? Whacko._

Angry that his home had been vandalized, he growled thru clenched teeth. He considered going back and get some cleaning fluid to scrub it away but decided against it. He could do that later. Now he wanted to fish.

On his way down to the dory, three boys walked up to him. "Hey, Carnbuckle. You going fishing again?" A freckled redhead asked.

"That's Captain Carnbuckle to you, shrimp." The old man said annoyed. He kept marching as the boys followed him.

"My dad says you have better chance catching fish in the toilet." Another one of the boys joked and sipped from his coke bottle.

"Leave me alone." Carnbuckle scolded.

"I was just wondering if you could tell my friends about that sea monster that took your hand." The freckled boy asked.

"No."

"Aww, come on. What was it you told me? That it was invisible and two mouths and had a flipper like a whale."

Carnbuckle had had enough. He grabbed the boy by the shirt. "That monster killed my friend and made me cut off my own hand so show some respect or you might lose some body parts as well!" He gave the boy a firm push to the ground. He gave the other boys a death glare which seem to scare them into silence. He then continued walking down to the ocean.

The freckled boy turned to his friends. "See, I told yah he was crazy."

* * *

Sometime later, Captain Carnbuckle was out on the ocean in his little rowing boat. His fishing road was set in his wooden prosthetic. The sky had already turned to black. The only light Carnbuckle had was coming from the little lantern he had brought with him. He wasn't really expecting to catch anything, he just wanted some time for himself. He closed his eyes and let himself think about his present and reminisce about the past. _"These waters are like me. It only grows more bitter and more dead by the day."_

Unknown to the old man, something was swimming in the dark waters underneath. Something big.

Carnbuckle peaceful rest was interrupted when he felt his arm jerk. Something was tugging in his fishing rod, the sinker had already disappeared under the surface. Thou surprised, Carnbuckle quickly grabbed the handle and started to pull back. Whatever was on the hook, it was strong. Incredible strong. The old man pulled back with all his might, teeth gritting, back bending.

Suddenly, the line snapped and Carnbuckle fell onto his back. "Ouch." Investigating his rod, he saw that the line didn't seem to have been snapped but rather cut. He blinked puzzled at this.

Suddenly, something rammed the boat from underneath and the impact sent the fisherman flying to the air before landing his boat again. Something rammed the boat again, this time from the side. Luckily, Carnbuckle managed to keep his balance. Then he saw a huge tail flipper rise out of the water before submerging again. Carnbuckle started to sweat cold. He could hear his heart pound faster.

Then, two rows of six long, sharp tusks rose up on either sides of the boat. The tallest tusk being almost two meters tall. Then they snapped together, slicing the boat in half. Carnbuckle quickly scurried to one end of the boat and he was lucky since his boat half remained intact while the other splintered up into pieces.

The creature attacked again and this time it showed its head. It was a blubbery, flat thing with those long sharp tusks on each side of the head. It came right at Carnbuckle and those sharp fangs locked themselves onto the boat. Carnbuckle felt as if he had been caged in a prison of teeth. This close he saw that the creature's skin was actually translucent, he could see all the animal's inner organs.

" _Invisible."_ He gasped.

The teeth inside the creature's mouth where formed like circular saws and operated like scissors, tearing into the wooden boat. Carnbuckle was terrified but he was no coward. He knew he had to do something or else he would lose more than just a hand this time. He grabbed his lantern and with all his force, he smashed it against the creature's head. Burned and in pain, the creature squirmed and let go of the boat. It disappeared under the water again.

Carnbuckle was breathing heavily. The silence eventually convinced him that the danger was over. "The monster has returned."

* * *

 **Cue the Intro.**

* * *

The next day.

Two cars, a yellow and a white drove up the road toward the beach. Abby was the one driving the yellow car, with her husband sitting next to her while their daughter Zoey and their surrogate daughter Creepy-Crawly sat in the backseats.

Naomi was driving the white car. Iris was riding shotgun while Ray Archer sat in the backseat with his laptop. Iris didn't seem able to sit still, she was overly excited. "Are we there yet?"

Naomi couldn't help but role her eyes. "Only a few minutes till we reach the beach."

"I have never seen the sea before. Well, I have seen it on film and pictures but never for reals." Iris stated.

"Well, it's great. Just remember you can't go swimming for an hour after you've eaten or you get cramps."

Iris smirked. "Oh, I can promise you that I won't get cramps and I won't eat anything."

" _No but you could short-circuit or rust."_ Ray mumbled to himself.

"When was the first time you visited the beach, Ray? The curious android asked.

Ray looked up from his laptop. "What? I don't think I remember."

"You were four years old Ray. Don't you remember?" Naomi said. "You had those Spider-man trunks."

"Really? I would love to see what Ray and Zoey looked like when they were younger."

"Oh, I think I got some pictures at home I could show you."

"How about you don't do that?" Ray said but his protest fell on deaf ears.

"I remember Ray used to put sand inside his swimtrunks and then run around naked while shouting, I am _sandman!_ " Naomi exclaimed and Iris laughed. Ray couldn't do much but hide his now red face behind his laptop.

Ray was actually doing important work on his laptop right now. He was looking over the images of the metallic cylinders in Far-Ty's body that Iris had taken the last time they ran into Ray's amnesic father. The images where smudged but they had managed to put together a more clear visual. Still, he couldn't make heads or tails of it. The devises were definitely mechanical, cylindrical and hollow but beyond that he could not tell what their function was or how their mechanics worked. He gave small tiered moan over not being able to figure it out.

His cellphone buzzed so he picket it up.

It was a message from Zoey. _'How y doing up there?'_

Ray wrote back to her. _'Horrible. I can't figure out these cylinders.'_

' _What cylinders?'_ Zoey responded.

' _The ones Iris found in my dad's body. I can't figure out what they are.'_

It took a while before Zoey wrote back. _'Maybe you should take a break.'_

Ray was really confused over this proposal _'?'_ He wrote.

' _Stressing out has never helped anyone. Take a break, relax.'_

Ray raised a brow. _'Takin a break from savin my dad? No thanx.'_

' _Well, y are not the only sauerkraut here?'_

' _Who is my soul mate? #Sarcasm.'_ Ray wrote.

' _CC's face is like a funeral.'_

' _Try to talk to her. You are good at makin folks open up.'_

* * *

Zoey smiled a bit at her cousin's compliment. She put away her phone and turned to Creepy-Crawly. The mutated Goth girl rested her head against her hand, looking depressed. "So any reason for the long face, CC?" Zoey asked.

"Genetics. All women in my family have these lengthy chins."

Zoey giggled a bit. "You're joking, that's good."

"I don't get why I had to come with you on this pathetic excuse of a family vacation." Creepy-Crawly lamented.

Chester sighed "Well you could have said something before we left home but now it's a bit too late."

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "It's just that I hate the water. It's just so… wet."

Zoey looked conspicuously at Creepy-Crawly, slightly tilting her head. "Um CC, can you swim?"

"What if I can't, hu?" Creepy-Crawly barked.

"In that case this will be a great opportunity to learn. I can teach you." Abby said.

"It's not just that. What about my wings? If I wear nothing but a swim suit, people will see that I'm a freak of nature."

"You're not a freak, CC." Chester said.

"It's a very large shore CC. I know about some isolated bays where we can train without anyone bothering us." Abby stated.

"I don't want to swim. If I was meant to go into the sea, I would have gills, not wings." Creepy-Crawly kept protesting.

"Isn't swimming a big part of the PE grade?" Chester asked Abby, smirking a bit.

"Oh yes. It is." Abby nodded, also smirking.

Creepy-Crawly looked up at the ceiling and sighed deeply. "Fine."

* * *

The cars parked at a parking stop by the beach and everyone stepped out of the vehicles. Abby and Chester started to unpack their bags out of the trunk when a blond teenager walked up to Chester. "Hey, man. Here is your complimentary beer, dude." He handed Chester a can of beer. He then took out yet another beer can for himself.

"Um, thanks…" Chester said puzzled. "Um, why?"

"It's spring break, dude. Free drinks to everyone."

Chester scowled. "Not to the kid's right?"

"Nah, dude. Only ones over eighteen." The teenager said.

Creepy-Crawly came up to them, smiling mischievously. "I'm over eighteen."

"No, you're not." Chester exclaimed sternly, giving Creepy-Crawly an angry glare.

"Hey, if you are here to surf man I'll have some bummer news for yah." The teenager sighed. "The sea, it's totally flat bro."

Chester blinked confused. "Um, I'm not here to surf. I am here for my kids."

The teenager looked surprised. "Really?"

"Yeah, what makes you think I'm a surfer?" Chester asked.

"You're kidding right?" Creepy-Crawly asked with her arms crossed over her chest. "Have you ever seen yourself in a mirror?"

Both Chester and Creepy-Crawly got distracted by the sound of a hammer. They turned and saw some people setting up tents. "What are they doing?" Chester asked and turned back to the blond teenager.

"Eh, they're just prepping for the big party tonight." The teen answered. He then drank from his beer can till it was empty and then crushed it against his forehead before rushing away. "Whoow! Spring break!"

Chester and Creepy-Crawly looked as he ran off. "Yep, we definitely should have waited a few days before coming here." Chester sighed.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later.

Zoey, Creepy-Crawly and Iris was changing into their bathing suits inside a dressing-room in one of those beach huts. Zoey was already in her yellow bathing suit and Creepy-Crawly had just put on her black bathing suit, something that wasn't completely comfortable to the mutant.

"This bathing suit is murder on my wings. It crushes them against my back." Creepy-Crawly complained, standing in front of a mirror on the wall, as she tried to adjust her bathing suit by pulling in the straps.

"Wait." Zoey said and walked up to the Goth. "If it is that uncomfortable, have your wings on the outside of the suit." Zoey adjusted Creepy-Crawly's suit so her wings stuck out. "There, just like with the slimesuit."

"Great, how can I now hide my freakish mutations?"

"Already thought of that." Zoey said and pulled out a white shirt from her bag. "Here, wear this over your bathing suit." She handed Creepy-Crawly the shirt.

Creepy-Crawly looked at it over with a skeptical sneer. "I don't think it's long enough to cover the entire length of my wings."

"No, but it covers enough. If people get curious about the part of the wings it doesn't cover just tell them that its part of the shirt." Zoey suggested.

"Must be nice not having to cover up your weirdness." Creepy-Crawly sighed and put on the shirt.

" _Yeah, cover up."_ Zoey sighed under her breath as she sat down on a bench, slightly looking at the exposed skin on her arm.

"Okay girls I have a problem." Iris stated as she stepped up to stand between them and the mirror on the wall. "Should I have a swim suit," Iris changed her hologram so she wore a purple swim suit over her human form, "or should I have a bikini?" Iris changed her hologram yet again so she wore a bikini set in the same purple colors.

"How about you go around naked?" Creepy-Crawly joked.

"You mean like this?" Iris said and changed her hologram again.

"Iris, don't…" Zoey said, tilting her head down and covered her eyes. When she looked again she almost chuckled in relief.

Iris was naked, as in she had no hologram disguise at all, just her android form. "I think going out like this will scare the daylight out of people." Iris changed back to human form with bikini. She looked herself in the mirror and decided she looked good. "I like it but the colors are a bit boring." Iris slightly changed her hologram so green spiral-patterns formed on her purple bikini. "There, now I look perfect to meet the great deep blue." She said and ran out of the room, leaving Zoey and Creepy-Crawly slightly dumbfounded.

"I guess Iris doesn't even put on her pant the same way as everyone else." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed. She started heading out of the room but then looked at Zoey that was still slumped down on the bench. "You comin?"

"Go ahead. I'll be with you in a few moments." Zoey waved her off and faked a smile.

Creepy-Crawly shrugged before walking out of the room but the moment she left, Abby Archer walked in. "Zoey, what's wrong?" Abby asked when she saw her daughter's depressed expression.

Zoey was quiet for a moment before answering. "Well, a lot of my skin is exposed…"

Abby raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"Well, what if I lose control of my powers?" Zoey exclaimed, looking up at her mother.

"Awe sweetie." Abby kneeled down so she would be on level with her daughter. "Listen, you and I have been training your self-control for years now. You have an almost perfect control of your powers."

"But what if I pollute the water or give someone gangrene or worse?"

"Zoey, you remind me a lot of your father when he was at your age and like him, most of your problems are just your insecurity talking. Trust me, you're in total control. Honestly, I don't even think you need to wear scarf and hoodie to school anymore."

"O'boy, here it comes." Zoey sighed and rolled her eyes. "You think if I dress in less baggy clothes I will be _the bell of the ball_ or something."

Abby was taken aback by this. "Zoey, when I was at your age I might not have been shy or insecure like your father but I was still a social outcast with a little brother for BFF, so I was far from being _"the bell of the ball."_ I'm just saying you don't have to shield yourself anymore unless you want to. If it helps you feel any better you can go with me and Creepy-Crawly."

"I guess that would be for the best." Zoey concurred.

* * *

Ray walked out onto the beach, wearing his red trunks. His laptop was under his left arm and a deck chair under his right. He took a deep breath of the salty air. "Alright. Need to relax. Need to stop doing Grossology stuff." He unfolded his chair and placed it into the sand before leaning down in it and placing his laptop beside him.

He relaxed his muscles, closed his eyes and sighed content. "This is good. I can lay of work for a few days. I mean, it isn't the end of the world." Ray opened his eyes and glanced at his lap top. The next second, he opened it up in his lap and was once again studying the electronic devices. "Let's see, maybe I can ask NASA or the school's science club what this is for something."

"Give that back, you thief!"

"Or what? Will the monster eat me? Heheheh."

Ray looked up from his computer and saw a boy in his late teens, running with a smirk on his face while being chased by a furious old man. "People are crazy." Ray mumbled to himself.

"Hey, Ray!"

Ray heard Iris call to him. He saw her standing a stone's throw away, waving to him. He smiled and got up from his chair but then the teenage boy accidentally ran right into him and the two tumbled into the sand.

"Ouch." The teen said. "Look out were you go, dweeb." He spat and ran off, right before the old man, Captain Carnbuckle, catched up with them.

He was exhausted from running. He halted and placed his hands on his knees as he panted. "God damn kid, stealing from me."

Ray saw a wooden hand in the sand. He picked it up and rose onto her feet. "Um, excuse me."

"WHAT!" Carnbuckle shouted at him and Ray felt the stench of rotten teeth and fish from the old captain's breath.

"Um, was this yours." Ray held out the wooden hand.

Carnbuckle sighed and calmed down a bit. "Yeah, that's mine." Ray handed him the prosthetic. "You here for the party?"

"Nah, I'm not old or cool enough for those kind of parties." Ray stated sarcastically. "So what's with the hand? Is it for a game or a model or something?"

"Not particularly." Carnbuckle replied and held up his handless arm.

Ray blinked disturbed. Carbuckle then reattached the prosthetic. "How did that happen?" Ray asked curious.

"The monster."

Ray blinked. "The monster?"

"The Monster!" Carnbuckle grabbed Ray by the shoulders and shacked him. The captain stared him right in the eyes. "The vile demon that haunts these waters. Twenty-six feet long with skin so thin you can see its entrails. Its eyes are as dark as night. Its head's adorned with huge fangs, dripping with venom and teeth like saws. Its body is like a serpent and its tail is like a whale. When it opens its mouth you'll feel the ocean being sucked into its gulf. It comes up at night to feed on human flesh. I thought it was gone! It's been decades since it last came out of the depths but last night it-

"What do you think you're doing?" A female voice interrupted.

Carnbuckle looked to the source of the feminine yet stern voice. It was Naomi, with her arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping impatiently. Realizing how crazy he must look, Carnbuckle took his hands off Ray and stepped away from him. "Sorry. I didn't really mean to scare your boy miss…"

"Archer. Naomi Archer. And you are?"

"Carnbuckle. Captain Carnbuckle."

"And what exactly where you doing with my son?" Naomi did not let up her scowl.

Carnbuckle scratched his neck nervously with his wooden hand. "Was just…telling him some ol' pirate stories, that's all." His prosthetic fell off. He picked it up and shyly retreated from Naomi. "I'll be going. Have a nice… whatever." He walked out of sight.

"A sea monster with translucent skin that prey on humans at night?" Ray exclaimed skeptically. Then his lips turned into a wide grin. "Sick."

* * *

Abby, Zoey and Creepy-Crawly had found a small bay, a hiking run away from the main beach. The small u-shaped bay was bordered by high cliffs but there was a narrow bath down to the water.

"This will be perfect." Abby said as she descended into the water, which really didn't reach further than her hips. "This place is cut off from the main beach so we'll have all the privacy you need."

Creepy-Crawly crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Next thing you know, some jogger with a cellphone comes by on his daily walk-out and *click* I end up on the next episode of Bigfoot sightings."

"You know CC, your attitude can get really tiresome." Abby snarled in that commanding parental tone.

Zoey went down into the water and wasted no time diving. She then poked her head out of the water, letting the rest of her body float under the surface. "Come on, get your feet wet. The water is wonderful." She then frowned a bit when she felt something touching her. He picked up some seaweed from the water. "Although, the algae blooming is a bit uncomforting."

Abby smiled. "I like it." She then turned to Creepy-Crawly, still on land. "Come down now CC. We don't have all day."

Creepy-Crawly kept scowling.

Abby sighed in despair. "Don't be so childish, CC. Do you really want to be the only girl in class that can't swim when you start doing this in gym class?"

Creepy-Crawly gave up with a sigh and climbed down into water. At first it felt okay until her wings touched the water. "Eep!" She shrieked and erected her wings. "No, forget this. My wings will be heavy and slippery in the water."

"CC, you won't need your wings to swim." Zoey exclaimed and dived into the water.

"Besides, you get them wet all the time when you shower anyway." Abby exclaimed. "Wait, you do shower, right?"

"Sure, three times a week." Creepy-Crawly answered.

Abby facepalmed. _"Give me strength."_ She whispered under her breath. "Okay, just follow mine and Zoey's lead." That was when Abby saw all the algae. It was like an outstretching carpet of green right under the surface. Most of it was out in the open water but some of it encroached on the shallow bay the girls was in. "Well, hope you won't mind all this algae."

"I do mind!" Creepy-Crawly proclaimed.

"I've got an idea." Zoey spoke up. "I can rot the weed. Then it would just sink to the bottom."

Abby frowned skeptically at the idea. "Okay, but just the algae in the bay. Anymore and you can harm the ecosystem."

"Because of all the ammonia, carbondioxide and methane released from the decayed plant matter. Got it." Zoey said. She stuck her hands in the tangle of green seaweed and used her powers to turn it black and with a few bubbly outbursts it sunk out of sight.

* * *

Unfortunately, Zoey's powers had a nasty side effect.

A sea monster with transparent skin and huge fangs, rested deep down by the ocean floor when it suddenly felt the heat generated by the rotting vegetation. With a singly flick of its powerful flipper it jetted towards the bay.

* * *

Creepy-Crawly was literally climbing the walls now, or rather the bay's cliffside. She crawled just as easily as a spider would up a kitchen wall. "There is just no way I'm going back to that disgusting water!"

Abby and Zoey was looking at her from the water below. "Aww, she reminds me of that stray dog I took home once." Zoey cooed.

"Come down CC. What are you gonna do? Avoid water for the rest of your life?" Abby shouted.

"Why not? My dad did." Creepy-Crawly replied. That was when she saw it. The monster cutting a path thru the seaweed towards the bay, towards Zoey & Abby. She might not be able to see its skin but she could clearly see its intestines and the huge fangs that crowned its monstrous head. "The-the-THERE IS A MONSTER IN THE WATER!"

Abby tilted her head. "What?" The creature was now creeping closer to the two Archer women, like a tiger.

"There is a sea monster right behind you!" Creepy-Crawly shouted.

Abby sighed. "That's it, I give up. If CC is so oppose to getting a little wet that she has to make up ridiculous lies about monsters there is just no helping." Abby stepped out of the water and dried herself with a towel. "I'm going to see what your dad is doing. Maybe buy some ice cream. You girls can do what you like but make sure to come back with in the hour." And with that Abby walked away. Creepy-Crawly thou was still nervous as hell since Zoey was still in the water with the monster which right now was as still as a log.

Zoey looked up at Creepy-Crawly with a sneer. "Good going CC."

"Zoey, there is a huge freaking monster behind you!"

The creature opened its mouth and started sucking in water and algae into its gulf. In a few seconds it would also suck in Zoey.

Zoey was getting irritated. "Creepy, it's okay to be afraid of the water, you don't have to make up silly stories." Suddenly, Creepy-Crawly flew down and grabbed Zoey by the arms and lifted her into the sky, right before the sea monster attacked.

"CC, what are you doing?" Zoey exclaimed agitated.

"Look down, moron." Creepy-Crawly hissed.

Zoey did as she said and that was when she saw the creature as well. The giant predator blasted out all the water it had sucked in, almost like a whale with its blowhole.

"O my God!" Zoey gasped.

"See, I told ya!" Creepy-Crawly exclaimed. The sea monster clumsily turned its body around and with one splashing stroke of its tail, it returned into the deep ocean.

To say that the two girls were shocked would be an understatement.

* * *

Iris and Ray ran into the water. Once the water got deep enough, Ray dived right into it. Iris tried the same, however when she tried to dive she just float to the surface. Ray emerged from the water. He and Iris exchanged questioning glances. Iris then tried to dive again but she just kept floating, like a beach ball she couldn't get beneath the water. Ray raised an eyebrow. _'Why can't she dive?'_ He wondered.

Iris scratched her head, puzzled. Then she slapped herself on the head. "Oh, I forgot that my joints are filled with air to make me lighter. I just have to empty them." The android opened up her joints and released the air. This had the unfortunate side effect of making it look like she was FARTING with all the bubbles erupting all around her.

Every bather nearby stared at them but Iris was completely oblivious to their appalled and amused faces. Ray on the other hand blushed with embarrassment.

Iris stopped letting out air. "There, done." Then she successfully dived into the ocean water and swam away.

People kept staring at Ray who was still blushing. "What? Everybody farts." He said before following Iris.

The two swam further out the sea. "Man, I get why people like the ocean now. This is great." Iris exclaimed happily.

Ray eyed an empty can floating path him. "Yeah, great."

* * *

Further out to sea, a teenager was water skiing while his friend was driving the motor boat.

"YEAH HOOOOOOO!" He hollered. "This is better than surfin bro!"

When the boat took a sharp turn, the skier lost his grip of the handle and crashed into the water. He resurfaced, laughing.

"Wicked wipe-out, dude." His friend said and turned the boat around, stationed it just beside the guy in the water. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fi-

The teenager was suddenly pulled under the water.

His friend on the boat laughed because he thought it was a joke. After a few minutes, the young man had not resurfaced. His friend was getting worried. He looked down at the water. "Um, dude. Come on man, this isn't funny."

Suddenly three large fangs broke thru the boards. The teenager screamed in horror has scurried to the end of the boat. The fangs then dragged the boat under the water, driver and all.

* * *

The young man was later dragged up on the beach by a teenage girl. People quickly gathered around them, worried and interested. The young man's body was covered in lacerations. "HELP! HE IS DYING! DOES ANYONE KNOW CPR?" The girl shouted.

Abby Archer pushed people out of her way as she ran to the victim. She got down on her knees and gave the unconscious man mouth-to-mouth before pressing her hands against his heart, counting the pushes under her breath.

Suddenly the young man gasped and coughed up salt water. He quickly faded back to unconsciousness thou. Abby checked his pulse and listened to his heartbeats. "He is steady but he will need proper medical attention. Can someone call an ambulance?" She shouted.

"I'm on it." Chester said who was already on his cellphone, calling 911.

"Man, what happened?" One of the other teenager's asked.

"Must have been a shark." One person said, slightly scared.

"There are no sharks in these waters." Another person said.

"The boat must have hit something."

"There was another guy with him!"

"Where is he?"

"I WARNED YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN!"

Everyone turned to the booming voice. It was Captain Carnbuckle. "I told all of you that the beast was out there but none of you wanted to listen and now we are paying the price!"

"Oh, shut up Carnbuckle!" One teenage boy shouted.

"Yeah, there has just been a tragedy and you exploit it to tell another one of your ghost stories."

"Go away, you old fart." One guy shouted.

Captain Carnbuckle growled frustrated. He turned his back on the tourists and started to walk away.

Ray & Iris was on the beach, observing the situation from a distance. "What do you think happened?" Ray asked.

"The probability of it being a shark is incredible low." Iris replied.

"And the probability of a sea monster?"

Iris blinked. "There is a larger probability that I'll become a real girl by wishing upon a wishing star and get a singing cricket as a conscience."

That was when Creepy-Crawly and Zoey ran up to them. Both where exhausted by the point they had stopped running. "It is true, there is a sea monster out there." Zoey panted.

"Really?" Ray exclaimed baffled.

"Yeah, it attacked me. I would have been fish-dinner hadn't CC saved me."

"There is no evidence of sea monsters." Iris stated.

"Have you forgotten about my evil cousin and her giant monster crabs?" Creepy-Crawly chided.

"Not the same thing." Iris said.

"I think we should investigate this and our first order of business should be to ask an expert." Ray stated and everyone turned their eyes to Carnbuckle as the old man walked away.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, there you have it. First chapter of episode 6 of Grossology Evolution. Been a while since I worked on this fanfic and this time I'm writing a tribute to Steven Spielberg's** _ **Jaws**_ **.**

 **The monster's identity has yet not been revealed but it is an animal. I am curious to see if any of you guys can figure out what kind of animal it is before I reveal it in the next chapter.**

 **Tell me your best guesses and tell me what you thought of this chapter in your review (which is greatly appreciated).**


	19. Jaws of the Worm (Part 2)

**Episode 6: Jaws of the Worm (Part 2)**

The team later met up with Captain Carnbuckle, although the old man was more interested in working on his fishing boat than talking to them. It was a big, dark trawler that looked like it hadn't been boarded for years.

"Hey, did you hear what I said?!" Ray called out.

Carnbuckle climbed down the ship's ladder. "Huh? No, I didn't. Get away from here. I'm not interested wasting time on you up-nosed kids."

"Hey, that's not fair." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed. "I can't help how my nose look. All women in my family has these sharp noses."

Carnbuckle got down on the ground, grabbed the handle of a big water hose and started washing the boat clean of all the bird poo.

"We want to ask you about the sea monster. What do you know of it?" Iris asked.

"Nothing you would believe." Carnbuckle huffed.

"There you're wrong. CC and I have also seen it." Zoey stated.

The old fisherman turned off the hose and looked at them. "Really, and you survived?"

"So far no one has died." Iris said.

"What about that water skier?" Creepy-Crawly said.

"According to media sources, his body was recently found. He's in a coma." The android explained.

"Meh, those media sources can't be believed." The Gothic mutant shrugged.

"I don't care." Carnbuckle growled. "Why would you kids want to know about the creature anyway?"

Ray blinked. "Why wouldn't we? It's a freaking sea monster and we know it exists so it's not like we're gonna call you crazy."

Carnbuckle sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you BUT DON'T INTERRUPT ME!"

Frightened, Ray and the others nodded.

Carnbuckle took a deep breath and started retelling his first encounter with the sea monster.

"Many years ago, when these waters were rich with fish and shellfish for the taking, I ran a little fish racket with my friend Salty Shaggy."

Creepy-Crawly raised an eye brow. "Salty Shaggy?"

"I SAID DON'T INTERRUPT!" Carnbuckle shouted and hit her over the head with his wooden hand.

"Ouch."

"Now, where was I?" Carnbuckle scratched his chin. "Oh, right. We made a steady buck selling our catch to locals and tourists alike, cause this was a time when tourists knew they were just tourists and didn't act like they owned the place. But later they started setting up factories and big farms. It polluted the sea. The fish died out, almost putting me and Shaggy out of business. So we decided to try crayfishing instead." Carnbuckled paused and let out a morose sigh. "The sun had just set and me and Shaggy had gone out fishing in the shallows when suddenly the monster struck. Its first attack crushed our jolly. Then came the sucking."

"The sucking?" Ray asked with a raised brow.

"THE SUCKING!" Carnbuckle shouted. "The water was being sucked into the monster's mouth and us with it. I never saw Salty Shaggy again. Personally? My hand got caught in its huge fangs and in that moment I saw that the monster's skin was transparent. I could see its entrails and I'll tell you, I have gutted fish for years and I have never seen an atomy like that one. Then it opened its jaws again and as powerful as the water was sucked in, it was blasted out. After that I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I went home and tried to sleep. I tried to convince myself that it had all been a bad dream, that Shaggy was fine but I couldn't sleep. Two things kept me awake, my thoughts of that horrible monster and my hand. My hand was red and swollen and itchy. I did the only thing a man in my position could. I took an axe, walked out backyards and chopped it off."

The teens dropped their jaws and stared at him with utter disturbance. "You. Chopped off. Your own hand!" Ray exclaimed. "Why?"

"Cause I knew that demon had poisoned me."

"Why not have it checked at the hospital?"

Carnbuckle was getting annoyed. "Hospitals cost money! Also, why let somebody else do something you can do yourself?"

Ray crossed his arms. "Your hand was probably just infected. Big animals are rarely venomous."

"I know what an infection is you little…" The old man waved his wooden hand at him.

"If I'm allowed to butt in here, I think there is more important things to consider here but than what should or shouldn't have been done." Zoey stated. "Did anything else happen, Carnbuckle?"

"Nothing really." Carnbuckle shrugged and turned his attention back to his boat. "The next day, I went out with some dynamite to the spot where I saw the beast. I hoped to blow it to smithereens but it was nowhere to be found."

"I think for an animal of that size to hide it would have to do it in deeper water." Ray stated.

"I agree and I have brought most of our Grossology equipment with me for just this sort of situation." Iris said.

"Your _what_ -equipment?" Carnbuckle asked puzzled.

"She said our _diving_ equipment. Yep, that's what she said." Ray lied with a nervous grin. He then turned to his friends. "Okay, here's the plan. We rent a boat, get out to the middle of the bay and search for any trace of the monster."

Creepy-Crawly placed her hands on her hips. "And if the monster tries to eat us?"

Ray shrugged. "Then we try not to get eaten. Simple."

The rest of the team walked away but Iris stayed. She turned to Carnbuckle. "Excuse me captain, can I ask you one more question?"

Carnbuckle turned away from his boat. He eyed Iris critically. "As you wish." He cleaned his hands with a cloth. "You don't seem to be as snooty as that bigheaded boyfriend of yours."

Iris was gonna tell him that Ray wasn't her boyfriend but decided to ignore it. "Ray is a good guy. He just happens to be obsesses with constantly being right. It might be because of the bomb inside his head that explodes if he ever admits to being wrong."

Carnbuckle blinked disturbed.

"It was a joke." Iris clarified. "I've heard that jokes puts people at ease but when I do it people just stares."

"What's your question?" Carnbuckle sighed.

"Well, I just wondered about you hand. Have you ever considered getting a prosthetic?"

"I already have one, stupid."

"I mean a bionic hand, an electronic hand. Technology has come a long way the last thirty years. You could probably get one and it wouldn't cost much." Iris explained.

"Electronic? Technology is for the weak. Like those fishermen that needs radar to find fish or those stupid teenagers with their iPods or iPhones or whatever. Its all just a bunch of mind dulling nonsense. No, I do fine with my wooden hand. Of course I won't wear it tonight."

"Why not?" Iris asked.

Carnbuckle removed his prosthetic hand from his wrist. With a vicious grin, he attached a nasty looking, dark hook. He held it close to the young girl, making her flinch a bit. "Because tonight, I will be wearing this as I finally end that unholy abomination that ruined my life!"

* * *

A while later…

The team was taking a row boat out to the middle of the bay. Iris was working on Ray's laptop while Ray waited for it to be done and Zoey was working the oars. Creepy-Crawly thou was staring down at the water. "What are you looking at CC?" Ray asked.

"The water. I don't trust it." Creepy-Crawly spat, not taking her eyes of the salty liquid.

Ray smirked. "I have never seen you this jumpy before. It's kind of cute."

"Buzz off." Creepy-Crawly hissed.

Ray smirked again. Feeling mischievous, Ray crouched down, lowered his hand into the water and splashed it right at Creepy-Crawly. She shrieked in fear and scurried back to the corner of the boat. Ray started laughing. "You should see your face…Where is a camera when you need one?"

Ray stopped laughing when Creepy-Crawly grabbed him by the hair and forced his head under the water. She held him there for 8 seconds before pulling him up again and gave him a serious glare.

"Okay, get it. No more teasing." Ray confessed and Creepy-Crawly let go of his hair.

"Geek." She hissed at him.

"Okay Zoey we are far out enough." Ray said when they were far enough out to sea. His cousin stopped rowing. "Iris, all done?"

"Yep." Iris replied and turned off her hologram disguise, revealing the four-eyed android underneath. She then pulled out a long extension cord from the back of her head and attached it to the laptop. She handed the computer over to Ray "Now you have full access to my optical feed."

Ray turned on his laptop and true to Iris's words, the screen now showed everything from her point of view. "Sick. We will be able to see everything you see."

Iris nodded. She stood up and took an easy step overboard, letting herself sink.

* * *

Under the surface, Iris slowly sank thru the dark murky water. Letting out small amounts of gas bubbles to make herself heavier.

"You okay, Iris?" Ray asked over the com-link.

"Affirmative. I'll be hitting the sea floor in approximately ten seconds."

"Good. Can you turn on some light or something? We can barely see anything."

"Sure." Iris's camera eyes shined red, illuminating the subaquatic terrain. Still, the view was limited.

* * *

"Man, that is some dirty freaking water." Ray commented as he watched the live feed. Zoey and Creepy-Crawly was crowding him on each side of his shoulders so they too could see the live stream as well.

* * *

Iris landed on the sea floor, dust spreading from underneath her feet. She looked around with her shining eyes. The sea floor was a sandy matt reaching as far as her eyes could see (which wasn't very far) spotted with human littering.

"Can you see this? It looks like CC's room." Iris commented and started walking across the sea floor. Her left foot got caught in something, some kind of fabric. She kicked it off her foot and picked it up. It was a pair of swimming trunks. Toddler size. Spider-Man patterns. "Um, Ray? Did you lose your swim trunks when you were little?"

"No." Ray's voice sounded a bit embarrassed. Iris heard the other girls laughing over the line.

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"We're wasting time. Just keep looking for organisms." Ray urged in order to leave the subject.

"As you wish." Iris exclaimed with a shrug and kept marching thru the water. "I can't find anything living down here, Ray. No wait, I see some jellyfish." She exclaimed and shined her light on two jellyfishes.

* * *

"Those are called Moon Jellyfish. They are very common." Ray stated.

"How fascinating," Creepy-Crawly said sarcastically while rolling her eyes, "but where is the freaking monster? You know, the entire reason we're out in this wet nightmare!"

"What is it CC? You scared?" Ray teased.

"Maybe we can throw some chum into the water. Like they do on the nature channel when they're looking for sharks." Zoey suggested.

"Maybe we can use Ray as bait." Creepy-Crawly joked.

"Remind me again which one of us is part fly?" Ray retorted, much to the Goth's annoyance.

* * *

Iris kept walking across the sea floor. Her eyes illuminated a pair of crabs, fighting over a dead fish. Otherwise the water was still and lifeless.

But just as Iris started to get used to the stillness, her sensors picked up a disturbance in the water. "Guys, I think there is something in front of me. Something big."

"Okay Iris, just stay calm and keep walking at your own pace." Ray said over the com-link.

Iris started marching towards the movement she picked up on. Her eyes shining another 2 feet with each step she took. Suddenly, something came into sight. A pair of long fangs and with another step the monsters entire gorgon head was revealed. "Guys I found it!"

* * *

Zoey and Ray gasped at the sight of the beast while Creepy-Crawly got frantic. "There! That's it!" The Goth pointed at the screen. "It's the monster we saw earlier!"

* * *

Iris felt an equal amount of fear and wonder as she stared at the massive predator that floated in front of her. It had ten long hooks on each side of its flat head. Its skin was translucent with a tint of white. It had no eyes but instead a pair of eyespots on top of its head. Its flanks had two pair of short fins and its tail ended in a horizontal fin. Looking closer, Iris could see the creature had jaws but instead of sitting vertically inside its mouth, they sat horizontally inside the cheeks.

* * *

Ray fingered his chin, pondering. He had never seen this animal and yet it reminded him of something, something he had seen before under a microscope.

"Why isn't it doing anything?" Creepy-Crawly asked and the other two turned to her. "I mean, it's just hanging there."

"I think it a good thing it isn't doing anything, CC." Zoey stated.

Creepy-Crawly shrugged. "Maybe it's asleep."

Ray once again, Ray studied the creature on screen. Creepy-Crawly was right, it was something weird about the animal's lack of movement. Also the position it was in was rather odd. It hovered in the water at a slanting angle, head down and tail up. Ray's eyes widen when he realized what was going on.

That creature wasn't sleeping. It was ambushing.

"Iris, get away from there! Now!"

* * *

"What? Why?" Iris asked just as the predator opened its jaws. The sudden suction sucked in water into the gulp and Iris misfortunately was also sucked towards the jaws.

Iris got an idea. She expelled the air that was left in her body, making her heavier. She landed on the bottom with a thud, too heavy to be sucked in now. If Iris had had any lips at this moment, she would have smirked at her own cleverness.

* * *

"Iris, stop playing action hero and just get out of there!" Ray shouted at the screen. "Before that thing-

At that moment Ray saw the big predator strike at Iris. First attack severed the connection between her and the laptop.

Ray blinked in utter disbelief. "Iris?" In a mixture of fear and anger, he started shacking the screen. "IRIS! IRIS! SAY SOMETHING!"

Creepy-Crawly shrieked, scurried to the other end of the boat and crawled up into a fetus position. "I knew it, I knew this would happen! Bad things always happen in the water."

Ray made a quick decision and jumped off the boat.

"Ray wait, you don't-

Zoey called out to but it was too late. Ray had already dived under the water.

* * *

Underneath the water, Ray took a sturdy grip of the camera cord and started hauling it in, hoping that his teammate would be at the other end. Ultimately thou the cord ended in a severed end with no charismatic android attached.

He dived deeper and finally he saw the sea monster and in its jaws where Iris, struggling. Gathering courage, he dived towards her. He wrapped her arms around Iris's body and tried to pull her free. This close, he could see that the inside of the creature's jaws were lined with barbs. Ray kicked the creature in the head. Since the skin was transduced, he had thought it would be soft like a jellyfish but instead it was hard as nail. Ray grit his teeth at the surprise pain his foot. Then he saw the creature's eyespot and figured they were softer so he punched at one of them.

The creature let go of Iris and Ray started to swim to the surface but it was hard. Iris was even heavier then when she first descended and he was running out of air.

Suddenly, the monstrous predator attacked again with such speed that Ray didn't even see it coming. The impact sent Ray tumbling thru the water and he lost his breath but he still managed to see the creature's tail disappear into the distance. Strangely, despite the lack of oxygen Ray felt much stronger than before and he was thankful that he still had Iris in his arms. He corrected his angle and started heading towards the surface.

* * *

"From now on I won't even go near water. I'll only drink milk and soda and bath in gasoline." Creepy-Crawly whimpered as she rocked back & forth on her butt.

"Hey, I'm scared too but you don't see cowering." Zoey exclaimed.

Suddenly, Ray and Iris broke the water surface and inhaled a large gasp of air. She had now turned back to her human form.

"There they are!" Zoey shouted and pointed at the two survivors.

"Yay!" Creepy-Crawly jubilated.

Ray swam to the boat with Iris under his arm. "Are you alright, Iris?"

Iris smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, mostly."

"Mostly?" Ray asked concerned.

Iris pulled herself onto the boat and that was when everyone got the shock of their lives. Iris had been cut in half. Her lower middle parts were gone yet the android girl seemed completely unfazed by it. Zoey gasped and covered her mouth, Creepy-Crawly yelped and Ray dropped his jaw.

"Is it really that bad?" Iris asked.

"I'm glad I have no gag reflex." Zoey stated.

"I do not chare that privilege." Ray exclaimed and vomited.

"Don't it- you know, hurt?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"Nah, I disabled my nerve sensors." Iris exclaimed dismissively.

Ray climbed out of the water and sat down in the boat. "Okay now we-

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID AS TO JUMP OFF THE BOAT?!" Zoey shouted at her cousin. For a moment, dark light flared in her eyes.

Ray was taken aback. "What do you mean? I was trying to save Iris."

"She's a living search engine, idiot. Even if we lost her body, she would still be alive on the web. You're a normal person and if we lose your body we lose you and what would I say to Aunt Naomi then?" Zoey exclaimed and stormed off to the other end of the boat and sat down, hugging her legs.

Ray brooded, turning his head slightly.

"Ray." Iris said, gaining his attention. "It was very heroic of you to save me and I appreciate it, as unnecessary as it was."

Ray sighed. "Fine. I didn't act rationally and let my emotions get the best of me."

"So what do we do now?" Creepy-Crawly asked. "Cause I won't stay around here." Getting what she was talking about, Zoey moved over to the middle of the little boat and started rowing towards land.

"Well, I won't be of much use like this," Iris motioned to her bisected body, "So I will download my consciousness into a spare body in the gaglab and come back to you."

"Good idea. Meanwhile, the rest of us will travel up shore. I think I'm starting to understand what is happening here." Ray stated.

"Okay, smell you later." Iris said. Her human hologram disappeared when she shutdown her body and the unconscious half-a-robot slumped onto the deck.

Ray, Zoey & Creepy-Crawly glared befuddled at the lifeless body. Then Creepy-Crawly said, "Am I the only one that wants to draw a mustache on that thing?"

* * *

LabRat and Clarence was working in the gaglab when one of Iris's recharge-pods started to buzz and shine with a bright light, causing the two men to look up from their work. The pod opened up and Iris jumped out like a ballerina and turned on her hologram disguise.

"Iris? What are you doing here?" LabRat asked puzzled. "Shouldn't you be monster hunting with Ray and the others?" He had already been filled in on their little monster quest.

"I was but then I got eaten alive so I had to get a new body."

"Ah, alright then." LabRat brushed it off and went back to looking into the microscope. Then realization struck him. "Wait, what?"

"I said I was eaten by a monster but it's okay. It wouldn't be a real monster chase unless somebody was eaten, right?" Iris joked. "I'm gonna fly back to the beach now. Ray might need me. Bye dad, bye Mr. Clarence." Iris exclaimed pleasantly and ran out of the room, leaving the two men dumbfounded.

"Clarence, I know you're not a family man but do you think all fathers have to deal with these kind of things?"

"No, sir. It's just you and the weird life choices you've made."

* * *

Abby laid stretched out on a towel on the sandy beach, her skin bathing in the sun's rays. She had a pair of sunglasses over her eyes and a content smile on her lips but nothing but a bikini set covering her body.

A young man in his early twenties approached, grinning. "Hey."

Abby looked up at him, tilting down her sunglasses. "Hey." She said with a hint of confusion.

"I saw you earlier when you saved that guy. Very brave." His grin seemed to grow.

"Just happy to be of help." Abby replied pleasantly. "I do wish a real lifeguard would have been there thou."

"We have lifeguards here but they are not all that, you know…" He stroked his hair, bashfully. "Helpful. It never really happens anything here so they usually just mess around like the rest of us."

"Boredom is no excuse to neglect responsibilities."

"Nah, I guess not. So, you taking anyone to the party tonight?"

Abby was about to reply when Chester turned up. "Hello. Anything happening?"

"Hey honey." Abby greeted. "My new friend here was just inviting us to the party tonight."

Chester eyed the younger man that looked like he'd just seen a ghost. Chester plastered on a smile. "It's a kind gesture but I don't think it would be too good for our kids."

"Nah, it probably isn't." He exclaimed nervously and slowly moved away from them. "See yah." He turned his heels and walked away.

"Hm." Chester huffed before lying down next to his redheaded wife. "I think he was in to you."

"Yeah, I got that sense too but I didn't want to hurt his feelings." Abby said.

"Abby Archer. 37 years old and still got it." Chester commented, trying his best not to smile.

"36." Abby corrected.

"And you don't look a year older." Chester retorted with a mischievous smirk.

Abby smiled back at him and giggled. She wrapped an arm behind his head and pressed their lips together. When their lips parted, Abby still held Chester's head to hers and Chester grinned and kissed her again.

Naomi suddenly showed up. "Am I interrupting something?" She said and the two parted.

"Nope, not at all." Abby exclaimed sarcastically.

"Well, while I would love to leave you to it, I think it's time we call the kids." Naomi stated.

"Why? We promised them we'd stay here the entire day and the sun won't go down for several hours." Abby exclaimed.

"True but I don't like it when they are gone for this long so maybe we should just call them and tell them to come back to the main beach."

"Okay, I call them." Chester said as he stood up. He pulled the cellphone out from his trunk pocket and called his daughter.

* * *

The team had abandoned their little boat and was now hiking along the shoreline but they were now far from the sandy beach with all the bathers. Here the ground consisted of wet mud. Each time one of them took a steep, their foot sank a few millimeters. None of them was bothered by it thou. In fact, they kind of liked the feeling of mud between their toes.

"Ray, why are we here?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"Cause I hope to prove my hypothesis right here." Ray replied.

"And why haven't you told us this _hypothesis_?" Creepy-Crawly annunciated the last word mockingly.

"Cause I like seeing all your pretty faces when I'm proven right." Ray retorted with a smug grin. Creepy-Crawly rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Zoey's grossometer peeped. "Hold on guys. I got to take this." She picked up her Grossometer and saw it was her dad calling. She brought it to her ear. "Hey dad."

"Hey Zoey. How is it?" Chester asked.

"Just good." She replied a tad nervous.

"Hey, maybe it's time for you and your friends to come back to the beach. Maybe we can take some dinner or something."

Now Zoey got really worried. She held her hand over the grossometer and looked at her cousin. "Ray, my dad wants us to go back to the beach."

"Well, we can't do that. You have to lie." Ray said.

"What do I say?"

"Make something up." Ray shrugged.

Zoey sighed before talking into the grossometer again. "Well, we um…We have decided to not come back before evening cause we want to attend the spring break party."

Chester didn't answer for a moment. "…What? Zoey I really don't think those parties are appropriate for you. Maybe in a few years but not-

"What is she saying?" Zoey heard her mother's voice in the background. Then she heard some whispering sound that would be her father's reply. "What!" Abby shouted. "ZOEY, COME BACK RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW! And it applies to your friend as well!" Abby's voice was like a meteor strike over the grossometer, Zoey had hold the device at a distance as to not go deaf.

"Well, while Zoey bargain for our punishment I will make a call to Iris." Ray sarcastically mused. He picked up his own grossometer. "Iris, do you hear me?"

* * *

"Loud and clear, Ray." Iris replied as she flew thru the sky on her jet-boosters. "I got a ping on your coordinates. I should be with you in less than a minute."

"Scratch that. I want you to do some recon with me." Ray exclaimed. "Do you see any industrial farms nearby?"

Iris looked down and actually saw a large farm with wide stretching fields and large white tanks next to the building. "I see one right underneath me." She said into her com-link.

"Great. Survey the place and call me when you find something eh…interesting."

"Understood." With no further words, Iris descended upon the old farm. She landed in a cow pen but there was no cows, only their bones. Really, really big bones. Iris raised an eyebrow at an old cow skull. "If that was a cow, I would not have wanted to meet the bulls."

* * *

Iris entered something that looked like a kitchen or a lab. "Hello?" She called out. She did not expect a reply and didn't receive one but she liked the sound of her echo. As she walked thru the room she stumbled upon something. A white canister of plastic. She picked it off the floor and read the label. "Progesterone." She blinked.

She then opened up a cupboard and found even more white canisters, although some of them had different labels than the one she found on the floor. She grabbed one and read its label. "Jeez." Iris contacted her teammate. "Ray, this place is prepped with Progesterone, Zeranol and Melengestrol. They are artificial growth hormones used on cattle."

"Yahoo!" Ray jubilated over the com-link. "Good job Iris. Now, I just want you to do one more thing. I want you to analyze the groundwater between the farm and the shore."

"Sure, I can do that. You want anything else of me? A sandwich, a foot massage, a coke with a slice of lime?"

"Iris, have Creepy-Crawly tried to teach you sarcasm again?"

* * *

When Iris found a puddle on her way to the shore she landed next to it. She crouched down, transformed her hand into a tube and sucked in some of the water. Her eyes twinkled light blue for a second as her computer brain analyzed the water.

"Hmm." She mumbled ponderously before jetting off the ground.

* * *

Zoey turned off her grossometer and turned to Ray. "Well, we are grounded for 6 months."

That was when they heard the sound of something jetting thru the air. The Grossologists looked up at the sky and saw Iris returning. She landed gracefully on a rock next to them. "I analyzed the groundwater as you asked. It's filled with the same growth hormones as they have in the farm. Although something tells me you expected that."

Ray smirked and nodded. "Yes, I did. Clearly, rainwater have been washing chemicals from the farm all the way down into the ocean. And now to reveal the identity of our monster."

"My bet is on the kindly old groundskeeper." Zoey joked.

Ray picked up his Grossometer and called the gaglab. "LabRat, you're not doing anything right now, right?"

"Other than worrying about my daughter, no." LabRat replied with good-natured sarcasm.

"Okay. I want you to bring up all information you got…on _arrow worms._ "

Labrat raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes and do it in that cool documentary style voice you do so well." Ray answered. The Grossometer projected a big hologram of an arrow worm.

"That looks exactly like the monster we saw!" Creepy-Crawly stated.

LabRat grinned. "This is Chaetognatha aka the arrow worm. Its a predatory plankton found all around the world. They vary in size between 3 millimeters to 10 centimeters. They are almost completely blind so they have to navigate by feeling the vibrations thru the water. They are ambush predators which is why they are sometimes called _the tigers of the plankton world._ They hunt by quickly opening their mouths, creating a vacuum that sucks prey towards them and then captures them with their long fangs. Some species even inject their prey with nerve venom."

"So Carnbuckle was actually poisoned." Iris exclaimed. "I guess we owe him an apology."

"Arrow worms can also regulate their buoyance by filling up and expel ammonia from their skin cells." LabRat added.

"I think what has happened here is that the growth hormones was eaten by the plankton in the water and then accumulated in the ecosystem's top predator." Ray explained. "And without any fish…"

"…the top predator was the arrow worm." Iris finished.

"Okay. So it's a giant arrow worm. What do we do about it?" Creepy-Crawly asked.

"I…don't know." Ray admitted. He placed a finger to his chin as he thought of their next move.

"Well, whatever you're going to do, you better do it before sundown." LabRat stated.

"What? Why?" Ray asked puzzled and slightly worried.

"Arrow worms are nocturnal. Once the sun goes down it will start to hunt in the shallows." LabRat explained.

"And then all those drunk, spring break celebrating teenagers will be on that thing's menu." Zoey exclaimed. The Grossologists looked at each other, all realizing how dire this situation was.

Creepy-Crawly shrugged. "Seems like we're going to that party after all."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So there you have it folks, the sea monster all along was an arrow worm (which by the way is one of my favorite animals).**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please, give me some feedback.**


	20. Jaws of the Worm (Part 3)

**Episode 6: Jaws of the Worm (Part 3)**

Iris swam thru the water, tearing seaweed out of the sea bottom. Her android strength made the process easy and soon she had her arms full of the green and yellow plants. Then, she swam towards the surface.

* * *

Iris walked up onto the beach. It was a grassy, isolated waterfront next to a small boathouse. "I got more seaweed for you Ray."

"Okay, place it in the distillery." Ray sat on a bench, working on his laptop. Creepy-Crawly sat opposite to him. Zoey sat on her knees in front of a small box-shaped machine made out of glass, standing on small pegs. Iris dumped down the seaweed into the apparatus. Zoey placed a hand under the machine and used her powers to decompose the plants. The gasses that escaped the rotting food went thru a specialized filter and where collected in a capsule above the box.

"Can you tell me again how this is supposed to stop the arrow worm?"

"I'll gladly do it Iris and not to just as needless exposition but because I just love explaining this plan to you." Ray mused. "As we know, arrow worms use ammonia to float. We're gonna give it so much ammonia it's forced to the surface. Then, I and CC will catch it in this net."

Creepy-Crawly pulled a net out of from behind the boathouse. "This is the kind of net they use to keep sharks away."

"Then what?" Iris asked.

"I prefer it to be humanly captured." Ray stated. "Nigel and Normal will fly in with a helicopter to capture it and takes it back to headquarters."

Zoey stood up and dusted off her hands. "I wonder why there is only one giant arrow worm and why it has returned after so many years."

"I got a few theories." Ray said. "This might be the spawning season and all the other years it showed up it was not just noticed or maybe it's here cause it's the only arrow worm that ever got a taste for human flesh while the others have retreated to the deep ocean."

"Or maybe it just ate the other ones." Creepy-Crawly suggested, smirking.

Ray smiled a bit. "That's a possibility."

"You know, there is a more direct way to make that worm consume ammonia."

"And what is that, Iris?" Ray asked.

"We can convince everyone to pee in the water." Iris said with a grin.

* * *

The sun was starting to descent. New cars rolled into the parking lot and young adults and teenagers joined those that were already at the beach.

Captain Carnbuckle looked at them with hateful eyes from aboard his trawler. "Idiots. Don't know they're walking right into the jaws of death. _Dancing_ into it even." He said as he walked over to the other end of the deck. There was a large white sheet that covered something big. "Don't worry little idiots. Big ol' Carnbuckle will protect you." He pierced the sheet with his hook and pulled it aside. "With his big ol' harpoon!"

The weapon was indeed big and old. It was the kind of harpoon used for whaling a long time ago.

* * *

The sun eventually set over the beach and the night air filled with the beating sound of disco-music. The teens and young adults danced joyously under the canopies they've erected. They took snacks and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) from a long table they've set up. Some gathered in small cliques to talk.

Overall, everyone was having a good time. Well, everyone except Naomi. She stood out on the sandy beach and tried to call her son on her cellphone. "You got, too little credit on your cellphone to call…" The cellphone said and Naomi turned it off, irritated but her irritation quickly turned to worry.

Abby came up to her. "Any luck?"

Naomi sighed. "No. I'm really worried for them. What if we were too hard on them and they've ran away?"

"I'm sure they haven't." Abby reassured.

"But what if they've drowned!" Naomi exclaimed, desperately gripping Abby's sleeves.

"Okay, okay. Naomi just breathe, slowly." Abby said, putting a hand on Naomi's shoulder as the blonde girl went from hyperventilating to breathing calmly and evenly. "Good. Now, wait here a moment." Abby ran off but quickly returned with a bottle of soda. "Here, drink."

Abby handed her the bottle and Naomi drank deep. "Thank you, Abby." Naomi said with a light smile but it quickly faded. She sighed. "It's just that Ray have been acting so strange lately."

Abby tilted her head. "How strange?"

"He stays out late and when I ask him where he's been I can tell he's lying. He disappears often without even calling me to tell where he is. He doesn't confine in me like he used to and we used to be very close."

Abby smiled a bit. "Naomi, Ray just going thru the rebellious stage. I'm pretty sure nothing's wrong."

"I guess." Naomi sighed.

Abby did believe her own words, at first but then she started thinking. Ray and Zoey had been disappearing a lot lately which wasn't that different from her and her brother when they were young. And she remembered what they used to do when they disappeared.

* * *

Meanwhile, Chester was searching among the dancing teenagers under the canopy. He approached three guys that stood talking a tad aside from the rest. "Excuse me. Have you seen this girl?" Chester asked and showed them a photo of Zoey. "She's my daughter."

The three younger men shacked their heads.

"Maybe you've seen any of her friends? All of them are around sixteen. One is a boy with glasses and a black west. One is a dark-skinned girl with pigtails and the third dresses in a gothic attire and has a ponytail."

"Nah, sorry surfer-dude. We haven't seen 'em but if we do see 'em we'll tell them you were looking fou 'em." One of the teens said.

Chester nodded. "Thanks." He walked away, mumbling to himself. _"I'm no darn surfer."_

* * *

"You dare me?"

At the end of a pier, right next to canopies, five friends was talking boisterously.

"Yeah, I dare you." One of them said.

"Okay." The first one said and shrugged. He then stripped down to his boxer shorts. "But the rest of you have to promise to come right down with me." Then he jumped into the water. When he emerged again, he guttered.

"Was it cold?" One of his friends asked with a grin.

"No but there's all this seaweed." He said and held up some green-yellow algae for the other to see. Despite this, the others soon jumped into the water as well, some with their clothes on. A few minutes later some girls in bikinis joined them.

Unfortunately, the teenager's tomfoolery hadn't gone unnoticed.

* * *

Iris jetted thru the water with the jet-boosters in her feet. "My radar system have picked up something big and fast, heading towards the beach. It must be the Arrow Worm." She spoke into her com-link.

* * *

"I guess the party has already started." Ray said as he and Creepy-Crawly flew in the sky above the water, holding the net between them. Zoey meanwhile was in the rowboat. She didn't really have any further role in Ray's plan but she wanted to be near just in case.

* * *

"I should be approaching the arrow worm now, although it's hard to see anything in this darkness, even less an animal with translucent skin." Iris said. The night had turned even the shallow waters dark. She did have her headlamps on which helped her see somewhat better. Her headlamps eventually caught sight of something colorful. Iris squinted her eyes to see better. It was the arrow worm, slowly making his way towards the beach. "I got visuals on the arrow worm, Ray. Or his entrails at least."

"Alright, just inject the ammonia and retreat. We don't want a rerun of the last time." Ray spoke over the com-link.

Iris swam closer to the tail end of the beast but just as she was about to touch it, the creatures sensors picked-up on her movements and with a single powerful flip with its tail, it speeded away. Iris growled in annoyance and jetted after it. When she almost cached up with the worm, the animal did another tail stroke and bolted out of reach. The hunt continued further up the bay. The two was almost as fast but the arrow worm accelerated much faster and his huge size allowed him to cover greater distances than small Iris. As the waters around Iris became shallower, they also became greener due to the algae. "Ray, he's moving into the algae bloom. Maybe it will deter him from the beach."

"After Zoey's and CC's experience, I doubt it but it may slow him down." Ray stated.

Ray was proven right (as usual) when the arrow worm slowed down, trying to orientate himself in the thick plant matter. Iris was first hopeful that this would be her window of opportunity when suddenly her radar picked up on something, something that made her very nervous. "Ray, my radar is picking up on something. It's really big and is approaching really fast."

* * *

"Yeah, I think I can guess what it is." Ray stated sarcastically as he, Creepy-Crawly and Zoey stared in disbelief as Captain Carnbuckle's giant trawler came towards them.

Carnbuckle himself stood atop the deck, prancing in front of the harpoon like a madman. "Don't worry you little idiots! Uncle Carnbuckle will save you're asses!" The one handed fisher shouted.

Seeing the trawler and hearing the onehanded captain's insane rant, people (including Abby, Naomi and Chester) started gathering by the shoreline to stare at him.

"You tourists never knew the dangers of coming here but I'll be your salvation! You will go on to throw candy wrappers and baby dippers on my beach knowing what one brave man did!"

Naomi sighed and shook her head. "What is that poor man gonna do now?"

* * *

The arrow worm speeded off again, right past Carnbuckles giant boat. Iris scowled and jetted after the worm hoping she could get past the boat in time but her hope was premature. The bow of Carnbuckle's giant trawler rammed into Iris with a laud *dudunk* and sent her body tumbling underneath the hull.

* * *

"IRIS! IRIS!" Ray shouted into his Grossometer. For the second he was overcome with concern for his robotic friend.

At first, only static came out of the little device but soon he heard that spirited voice. "Ray, I'm fine or rather my body is fine."

"Sorry, keeps forgetting." Ray mused.

"We got a problem thou. The capsule broke. The ammonia leaked out." Iris stated.

"Then we got to abort the mission." Ray said.

"Ray, there are people in the water!" Creepy-Crawly shouted and pointed at the bathers by the pier.

Ray blinked before speaking into the Grossometer. "Iris, do you still have radar on that worm?"

"Yeah, he's still heading for the beach."

"Come on CC." Ray ordered and the two flew towards the pier.

Zoey on the boat meanwhile grew frustrated. There was a giant sea monster in the water and her friends was risking life and limb to save people while she couldn't do a thing. Then Zoey realized there was something she could do. She scowled determined before jumping headfirst into the water.

* * *

The arrow worm kept swimming thru the algae rich water. It didn't swim from side to side like a fish but in short, rapid movements. The pier and the teenagers were coming up ahead. His eyesight was poor. He could only tell the shadows from the light but the vibrations of his unsuspected prey was dead on. The predator got himself in position, as close as it dared to come. Even if the algae didn't cover him, the teens would probably not notice a transparent animal in the dark of the night. He opened his gulf and water started pouring in.

Then just as he was about to strike, Ray and Creepy-Crawly swooped down and scooped up all the people in the water with their large net. The first reaction of the teenagers where to cheer since they thought this was some kind of elaborate stunt but it soon turned to screams of fear when the arrow worm launched itself out of the water like a performing orca. Its jaws cut right thru the net and the teenagers fell back into the water. The people at the beach immediately gathered at the shoreline, shouting for the people in the water to come up. The ones in the water panicked and their violent splashing and struggling became too much for the arrow worm's sensors. He needed to retreat and come back.

Ray and Creepy-Crawly looked disappointed at their respective halves of the shredded net before looking at one another. "I thought you said the net would hold." Creepy-Crawly exclaimed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to read the documented bite force of A NINE METER LONG ARROW WORM!" Ray hollered sarcastically. They then looked down, worried for the people in the water. Ray and Creepy-Crawly dropped their parts of the net and dove down to save as many as they could.

The arrow worm got into position again but by the time it taken it to retreat and return, most of the swimmers had made it to shore already. Everyone except one. A guy that seemed to be in the middle of a panic attack. The arrow worm approached him but just as he was ready to strike, a harpoon sliced thru the water. The metal weapon missed the giant predator by mere inches but it was enough to scare the worm into retreating.

That was when the giant predator felt something thru the water. Vibrations of something smaller that was struggling. It was coming from deeper water. It also smelled of rot. Frightened, sickly and isolated, it was perfect prey. The arrow worm found the target irresistible and turned away from the shore, heading towards the ocean.

* * *

"Gosh darn it! I missed and now it's moved on to deeper water. How will I catch the damn thing now?" Carnbuckle lamented furiously as the harpoon retracted into its barrel.

Iris popped her head out of the water next to Carnbuckle's boat. She activated the jet-boosters in her feet, flew straight out of the water and landed on the deck. She carefully walked up to Carnbuckle and tapped him on the shoulder.

Carnbuckle got so surprised he almost hit her but once he saw it was only Iris he calmed down, _a little_. "By the tarnation, what you doing here and how did you get onboard?"

"You want to catch that arrow worm right?" Iris asked with a monotone voice.

Carnbuckle blinked. "If that's what that sea monster is called, yes but he's fled to deeper waters so I can't detect it."

"Then maybe we could help each other." Iris said. She turned off her hologram disguise, revealing her true android form.

Carnbuckle gasped and stepped back. "What the hell are you? Some kind of robot-person?"

"I prefer android but you can call me IRIS as in _Intelligent Robotics & Information System_. Really, I'm just a girl." She jumped up onto the harpoon launcher, sitting like some kind of monkey on all four and turned on her headlights. "With my radar and my headlights I'll find it for you." Iris observed the bay, west to east, until her eyes landed on something worrying. Their rowboat. "Zoey!" Iris exclaimed. "She was supposed to stay in that boat so where is she?" She called her on Zoey's Grossometer but got no answer. "Got to call Ray."

* * *

Ray heard his Grossometer ring so he picked it up.

"Ray, I can't find Zoey anywhere! She is not in the boat. I think she jumped into the water!" Iris's voice cried out in worry. Without another word, Ray turned off the Grossometer, turned around and jetted after his cousin. Creepy-Crawly flew after him as fast as she could.

Abby meanwhile stood on the beach with her arms crossed, eyeing the flying Grossologists. They were too far away for her to identify them and it was too dark to see Creepy-Crawly's wings so she just assumed they both had jetpacks. Still, she recognized a slimesuit when she saw one. _"So the Grossologists are here but my daughter and my nephew aren't? A coincidence?"_ Abby whispered to herself.

* * *

The arrow worm swam towards it target. Its visible stomach growled with anticipation. What the massive predator didn't notice thou was that all the green algae surrounding it had died and decayed, sinking to the bottom. It finally find the prey that had caused those wonderful sensations.

It was Zoey. She was floating just above the sea floor with a giant garn of seaweed in her arms. She used her powers to keep the garn in a constant state of decay.

The arrow worm got into position in front of Zoey, its tail pointing upwards. Opening its mouth, it started sucking in the water.

That was when Zoey put her plan into motion. She completely rotted the bundle of seaweed into its most basic chemical components (among them, ammonia) and released it. The ball of chemicals was quickly sucked into the mouth of the arrow worm. The large sea creature wriggled, feeling like he's gotten poisoned. He then felt himself getting lighter as his cells filled with ammonia and he headed towards the surface.

Unfortunately, when he swam upwards, his tail flipper hit Zoey over the head. Zoey's world spun for a second and then she blacked out.

* * *

The arrow worm had come to the surface but this wasn't where it wanted to be. It wanted to dive, to hide and get healthier but couldn't. It was as if the water itself was fighting him. Suddenly his sensitive eyes was hit by a strong ray of light.

The light was coming from Iris on Carnbuckle's trawler. "I got him my sights captain. Fire when ready!"

The old fisherman grabbed a hold of the harpoon's handles and aimed it right at the monstrous arrow worm. "Smile at this you son of a…" He pressed down a button, firing the harpoon.

The harpoon pierced thru the arrow worm's head. A surge of pain shot thru the creature's body. He started splashing, struggling in the water, twisting and turning around the metallic object stuck in its head. Finally thou, the animal's body stiffen and its invisible skin turned into a yellowish white.

It was dead.

The harpoon retracted back to the boat, hauling the dead arrow worm with it. The animal became hanging from the bow. Iris and Carnbuckle looked down at it from the deck. "For you Shaggy, for you." Carnbuckle muttered with a smile.

* * *

Ray and Creepy-Crawly arrived at where Zoey had last been seen. "ZOEY! ZOEY!" Ray called out but got no response from his cousin.

"She must be underwater!" Creepy-Crawly stated.

Ray didn't hesitate. He shut off his jetpack and fell into the water before diving under the surface, determined to find Zoey.

Creepy-Crawly meanwhile remained hovering just above the water. _"Come on CC, do something!"_ Creepy-Crawly whispered to herself. _"Don't just fly up here like a cowardly fly scared of the swapper. If I don't do something, Zoey might die and if Ray saves her, that jerk will never let me hear the end of it."_ Creepy-Crawly took a deep breath, flew in a loop and dove head first into the dark water.

As soon as she was in the water, her worst fears were realized. Her wings became wet and heavy and started sticking to her body. It was as if the water pressing itself against her. The poor light didn't allow her to see very far. If it hadn't been for her Grossologist goggles she wouldn't be able to see anything.

For some reason she expected her cousin, Crustacea to appear out of the darkness.

She did have one advantage thou, her keen sense of smell. She could pick up on Zoey's distinct odor. She tried to remember the techniques Abby and Zoey had tried to teach her. _'Arms in, arms out. Arms in, arms out.'_ As she swam deeper and deeper she spotted Ray, heading back to the surface. _'Not good. He must have run out of air.'_

She finally saw Zoey lying unconscious on the sea floor among the dead algae. However it was at this moment that Creepy-Crawly herself went out of air. She struggled with her decision. Either go back for air, risking Zoey's life or trying to reach Zoey and risk them both.

Suddenly, Creepy-Crawly felt something…odd. Two soft nubs with fine, bristle hair grew out on her back in-between her wings and suddenly she didn't feel the need to go back for air. Those were gills, similar to those on dragonfly larvae, she realized. With a new intake of oxygen charging her body she quickly swam down to Zoey. She cradled her body, pushed her feet against the sandy sea floor and launched herself towards the surface.

The moment the insectoid girl broke thru the surface she instinctively gasped for air as her lungs immediately started working again. What was worrying thou, was that Zoey didn't.

"Zoey! CC! Thank god." Ray exclaimed as he swam up to them. "Give her to me. I can get her to safety fastest."

Creepy-Crawly didn't argue. She passed the unconscious redhead over to Ray. Ray then activated his jetpack and after an uneasy start he jetted out of the water, heading towards Carnbuckle's trawler. Leaving Creepy Crawly behind.

The Goth girl spread her wings above the water and tried to flap them in order to get airborne but her wings where just too soaked and heavy. "Okay, now I understand the purpose of swimming lessons." She sighed.

* * *

Ray Archer landed on Carnbuckle's boat and gently lowered his cousin down on the deck. Carnbuckle and Iris (now with her holo disguise on) saw them and was immediately worried for the red haired girl. "Zoey!" Iris exclaimed and ran to her friends with Carnbuckle plodding after.

Ray opened Zoey's mouth and started breathing into her. He then pressed on her chest three times before continuing breathing into her mouth. Suddenly, Zoey awoke with a gasp and Ray was quick to turn her on her side so she could throw up all the water she'd swallowed.

"Zoey, are you okay? How are you feeling?" Iris asked scared.

Zoey clicked her tongue against her palate. "Salty."

"Oh thank god." Ray exclaimed and hugged her. "Zoey, what were you doing?"

"After Iris's needle broke I knew I needed to do something to save your plan so I jumped into the water and rotted the algae. Then I sent it into the worm's mouth and he couldn't keep his buoyancy stable, like you predicted." Zoey explained.

"Well, I don't know what half of that means but the worms dead now." Carnbuckle said, thumbing to the edge of the boat.

The Grossologists and the fisherman walked over to the bow, looking down at the dead sea creature. "I had hoped to capture it humanely."

" _huh, hippie."_ Carnbuckle huffed.

"Well, you can't win them all but in a way your plan worked." Iris said. "You were right to believe that the arrow wouldn't be able to filter out all that extra ammonia."

At those words, Ray suddenly tensed up. He looked at Iris with wide questioning eyes. "Filter out." Then it all dawned on him.

' _Horrible. I can't figure out these cylinders.'_

"… _my joints are filled with air to make me lighter. I just have to empty them."_

" _Arrow Worms can also regulate their buoyancy by filling up and expelling ammonia thru their cells."_

' _The ones Iris found in my dad's body. I can't figure out what they are.'_

At that moment, Ray realized something. "They're filters."

Iris blinked. "Um, what?"

Ray's dumbfounded face turned into the largest smile Iris had ever seen. "They're filters!" He shouted happily before grabbing Iris's arms and spinning her around in a celebratory dance, all while singing. "They're filters, they're filters, they're filters." He then sent Iris spinning like a ballerina before making a summersault across the deck while once again joyfully shouting, "They're filters!"

"Is he always like this?" Carnbuckle asked.

"No, sometimes he gets weird." Zoey joked.

"Hello!" A female voice called out. The others looked out over the gunwale. It was Creepy-Crawler swimming in the water. "Don't fire that harpoon at me or something but can you please fish me up?"

Zoey cupped her mouth and shouted down at her. "CC, your swimming. I'm very proud of you."

Creepy-Crawly smiled. "It's all thanks to the gills that's sprouted out of my back…and two very talented instructors."

* * *

When Carnbuckle's ship came back to the shore, the people on the beach cheered when they saw the body of the sea monster hanging from the hull. "You captured the sea monster!"

"Carnbuckle!"

"Carnbuckle's a real hero!"

"Whoow, we love you!"

Carnbuckle chuckled as he watched all the teenagers that were praising him. "Well, look at that. It seems like we're all…" When he turned around he realized that Ray, Iris, Zoey and Creepy-Crawly were gone. "…heroes now."

* * *

"Okay, that it. We don't know where the kids are and a sea monster almost ate some tourists just a few moments ago. I'm calling the coast guard." Abby exclaimed and took up her cellphone. Her husband and sister-in-law was by her side, a stone throw away from the commotion at the shore.

"Hold that call, honey." Chester said, placing a hand on her hand.

"Why?" Abby asked and Chester pointed in a certain direction. He pointed at their children as they made their way towards them. Ray, Zoey, Creepy-Crawly and Iris were all now wearing their swim outfits again.

"Ray!" Naomi cried out and ran up to her son, giving him a big hug.

Chester did the same, hugging Zoey and patting her head. "I'm so glad your back, sweetie."

"Where were you?" Naomi asked harshly, she was a worried parent after all.

Ashamed, Ray scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know. We just wanted to get away for a while and then we got lost and yeah…"

"Also, we wanted to go to the party." Creepy-Crawly added.

Abby stepped up to them, looming over the kids with her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her lips. "You realize you are in trouble, right?" She said, looking at Zoey and Creepy-Crawly. "Not only did you run away but you involved Iris as well. What do you think her parents would say if something happened to her?"

"Yes, mom. We understand." Zoey said.

Creepy-Crawly lowered her head in shame. "Yes, Mrs. Archer."

Abby then smiled, got down on her knees and gave both of them a big hug. "Good, I'm really happy your both okay." She let go of them. "Now let's change so we can drive home."

After that the four kids nodded and started marching towards the dressing rooms, the adults noticed that Creepy-Crawly was hauling something in a rope behind her back. "Um, what's that?" Chester asked, pointing at what was tied at the other end of the rope.

It was the upper half of Iris's old body. Now just a hollow metal dummy.

"I don't know. Some hunk of junk I found in the ocean." Creepy-Crawly shrugged. She smirked a bit. "Hey, am I the only one thinking to draw a mustache on this thing?"

"Oh, you think I would look good with one?" Iris asked.

* * *

The next day, the team was gathered in the gaglab. Zoey and Iris sat on the couch while Creepy-Crawly stood behind them with her arms resting atop the couch's backside and LabRat sat in his wheelchair. Ray meanwhile, stood in front of them with a large computer screen behind him which showcased the cylinders they had discovered in Far-Ty's body.

"…therefor I can only conclude that these hollow, mechanical cylinders are filters of some sort. They're filtering out methane and carbon gases. _Fart-Filters_ if you will." Ray finished after an almost 30 minute lecture.

"That would explained a few things." LabRat said and brought up two images on the screen. One of Fartor and one of Far-Ty. "While Far-Ty do have some similarities to other methane-breathers like his morbid skin color and lack of hair, he's not fat or bloated the way Fartor is."

"Why would Far-Ty do that?" Creepy-Crawly asked, tilting her head a bit.

"No, you don't understand!" Ray exclaimed. "Far-Ty didn't build these. My father, Ty Archer did. He must have known he couldn't prevent the Far-Ty personality from taking over so he created these as a precaution. I don't think Far-Ty is an actual methane-breather at all. I think he only believes that he needs to breath fart-gas but in actuality he breathes oxygen just like the rest of us."

Creepy-Crawly smirked a bit, looking down at Zoey. "Just like Zoey thinks she needs to cover up her powers when really she has total control over them."

Zoey smirked back. "Or how CC thinks there's something risky about the water when in fact she does pretty well in it."

"Exactly but there's more than that." Ray said. A smile grew on his face. "I think that with these filters my dad created an Achilles heel, a backup plan for whoever would be to confronting Far-Ty in the future. I think we can use this the next time we meet Far-Ty to bring my dad back." Ray looked up at the blueprints of the filter on the screen. There was glow in his eyes and a hopeful smile on his lips.

He had never been so certain. He would defeat Far-Ty and he would make his family whole again.

* * *

A few days later at the beach.

"How did you know that the harpoon would work?" A reporter asked and held her mic to Carnbuckle's face.

"Oh, old Betsy and I go way back. She've never disappointed me." Carnbuckle replied.

"Did you do it all alone or did you have any help?"

"I had help capturing that beast but they wish to remain anonymous." He answered.

"How do you feel about the health inspector filing for the abandoned factory farms to be torn down to prevent any more chemical spills?" The reporter asked.

"I don't know much about that but I guess it sounds good. Now, you have to excuse me, I think my coffees done." Carnbuckle said and walked back to his house which was now free from graffiti.

* * *

Carnbuckle's assumption was correct cause as soon as he stepped inside he heard the coffee maker whistle. He turned off the alarm and took a hold of the heated jug with his new mechanized hand prosthetic. The hand was silver colored and worked in perfect unison with his nervous system. Carnbuckle still felt a bit strange, having a robotic hand, an appendix which allowed him manipulate objects but never allowed him to feel them. Still, he knew he would get used to it. He was an old seadog, stubborn enough to get thru anything.

He sat down, took a sip from his cup and leaned back in his big comfortable armchair. Mounted on the wall behind him was the giant fangs of the arrow worm.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **Full disclosure, I actually don't know how the ammonia-gathering cells in Arrow Worms works. I know that they fill up whenever the animal needs to get to shallower water and empties when it needs to dive but I doubt that they would work the way they do in this story. See it as science-fiction. Actually, scientists don't know much about arrow worms at all, mostly because most of the studies done about the animal have been done in labs and not in the wild. I even heard about one new theory which suggests that arrow worms are actually mostly plant eaters. Of course this opens up a bunch of new questions like, are some arrow worm species predators and others vegetarians? Do they only eat meat some times of the year? Why have they developed such effective killing techniques if they'll mostly live on algae? We don't know (although it seems like they're omnivores). Actually I predict that in ten years most of the things I've written about arrow worms in this story will be outdated. Which is part of why I love the critters so much.**

 **Also, sorry for the lampshading earlier in this chapter. I just realized I hadn't given a reason for why the monster had returned after all this time and I had no idea how to solve the plothole so I just sort of spat out a few suggestions. I promise I will be a bit more careful not to leave such illogical inconistancies in my work in the future.**

 **We'll see when I'll be able to update this fic. Honestly I would like to take a rest from this so I can overview my plans for the later chapters, laying the groundworks for the future so to speak.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this episode of** _ **Grossology Evolution**_ **and please, leave a review.**


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